Santa Barbara County Courthouse

Why visit

Many visitors are surprised to learn this castle-like building is a working courthouse, where real trials still happen. It's also a National Historic Landmark. It was finished in 1929, after the 1925 earthquake wrecked much of downtown, and its Spanish Colonial Revival style (white plaster walls, clay tile roofs, iron gates and colorful tile, inspired by Spain's Andalusia region) helped set the look of the whole city as it rebuilt. The famed architect Charles W. Moore called it the "grandest Spanish Colonial Revival building anywhere."

Best of all, visiting is free: the clock tower, the Mural Room, the gardens and the guided tours.

The top 4 things to see

1. The "El Mirador" clock tower

Ride the elevator (or take the stairs) up the 85-foot clock tower to the open-air viewing deck. You get a 360-degree view over the red tile roofs of downtown to the coast on one side and the mountains on the other. No ticket or reservation is needed.

Go before 4:30 p.m. The building stops letting visitors in at 4:30 p.m., and the tower deck closes about half an hour before the building does (one official page says around 4:45 p.m.). Aim to be at the top by 4 p.m. and you won't be rushed.

One floor below the deck is the Clock Gallery, where you can watch the tower clock's works through a glass wall. The gallery itself opens for guided visits with docents (trained volunteer guides) on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10:45 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.

2. The Mural Room

On the second floor, the Mural Room was built as the county supervisors' meeting room and is still used for weddings and civic events. Its four walls are covered in murals by Dan Sayre Groesbeck telling Santa Barbara's story: the Chumash people, who lived here for more than 12,000 years, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo's arrival in 1542, Sebastián Vizcaíno naming the area for Saint Barbara in 1602, and the Spanish, Mexican and American eras that followed. Look up, too. The painted ceiling (like every ceiling in the building) is by John B. Smeraldi, and the furniture, carpet and velvet drapes are originals from 1929.

Look for a dark patch on the wall. Conservators left it on purpose to show the smoke and grime they cleaned off the murals in a restoration that cost more than $1 million.

3. The Sunken Gardens

The big lawn on the Courthouse block sits where an earlier courthouse once stood. Today it hosts civic events, performances and plenty of weddings, and the rest of the time it's a lovely place to sit in the sun.

4. The tile, arches and details

Wander the hallways and you'll find painted tile staircases, arches of every shape, wrought-iron gates and the "Spirit of the Ocean" fountain. The railings were originally thick ship mooring ropes, called hawsers, chosen to honor Santa Barbara's ties to the sea (they were later swapped for metal rails for safety).

Free docent tours

Free guided tours led by docents start in the Mural Room on the second floor. No reservation is needed, and you can join or leave a tour in progress.

Tours last about an hour. Groups of eight or more can request a private tour from the Docent Council at least two weeks ahead.

Hours (October 2026)

Visitors aren't admitted after 4:30 p.m. Admission, the tower and the docent tours are all free.

Ignore the old COVID notice. One page on the Docent Council's website still shows a leftover line saying the building is closed because of COVID-19. The same page lists the current hours, and the Superior Court's own site lists the daily tours. The Courthouse is open. Check sbcourthouse.org for current details.

Security screening

On weekdays when court is in session, everyone goes through airport-style screening at the entrance. You keep your shoes on, but belts with metal buckles go through the X-ray. Leave selfie sticks and pocketknives (even tiny keychain ones) at home, because they can be confiscated and not returned. Give yourself a few extra minutes.

Use the main entrance under the Great Arch. It's closest to the tiled staircase, the Mural Room and the tower elevator. An information booth inside is staffed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. when volunteers are available.

Getting there and parking

The Courthouse is downtown at 1100 Anacapa Street, about a block off State Street. City Lot 7 is right across Anacapa Street: the first 75 minutes are free, then $3 for each hour or part of an hour. Several city bus lines stop across the street. It's an easy walk from the Presidio and most downtown restaurants.

More history nearby

Make it a history day: start up the hill at Old Mission Santa Barbara, walk to the adobe walls of El Presidio, then head down State Street to Stearns Wharf. Our one day in Santa Barbara itinerary puts the Courthouse right in the middle, and it tops our list of free things to do.

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