Thursday, July 28, 2016

Exploring the Santa Barbara County Courthouse

We had but two full days on the ground in Santa Barbara, Day One was spent sleeping in (our arrival was much later than anticipated the night before, more on that later), strolling to the beach, exploring Lotusland, and a long, leisurely birthday dinner with another walk to the beach afterwards. Day Two held no agenda. We'd discussed various activities but decided to just explore and relax...it was perfect. For example we discovered the historic Santa Barbara County Courthouse...

Beautiful just as sculpture, this fountain must be dreamy when the water is flowing.

Keep this sign in mind, when you see the photos I took from up in the bell-tower.

"The current courthouse was constructed between 1926 and 1929 and completed four months before the crash of the US stock market of 1929" (source).

Oh the details!

Now we're up in the bell-tower, and come to think of it I was so taken with the 360-degree view, I didn't think to ask where the bell was. I wonder of this strange little balcony had something to do with it, when there was a bell?

The view out towards the ocean (that's a smudge on my lens at pretty much dead center, not a tornado).

Araucaria bidwillii (L) and Araucaria heterophylla (R). Yes I had to look up both of those names, only remembering the common names (Bunya Pine and Norfolk Island Pine).

This is the photo I wanted you to look at and remember that sign about significantly reduced watering. Really? That's a lot of green lawn.

In-person those mountains in the distance looked so dry. Here the camera has managed to color them up a bit.

Back inside and descending the staircase to the ground...

Simply gorgeous!

All material © 2009-2016 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

19 comments:

  1. Beautiful tiles, white walls, terracotta glazed floor, beautiful details!

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    1. I can imagine my dream California home having similar details, only on a much smaller scale of course!

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  2. I'm so glad you went to the courthouse. It's such a spectacular building. Did you go back at night? It's lit beautifully.

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  3. Beautiful tile work, but my favorite thing about this post is a simple phrase toward the beginning: "Day Two held no agenda... decided to just explore and relax...it was perfect" Love this philosophy.

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  4. Blast from the past...when people took pride in their city hall.

    My elementary school was in that gorgeous style, believe it or not. Not so lavish, but the tiles halfway up the walls as in photo #8 was ultra-practical for an elementary school--easy to clean, no repainting ever needed. Sad to read they'd torn down the building because it didn't meet earthquake code.

    Dry fountain, green lawn--all you can do is laugh.

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    1. Hopefully what could be salvaged from the building was, before it was torn down. And indeed, laugh...this world makes no sense!

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  5. My favorite city !

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  6. My sister-in-law got married there (the second time around). I love Santa Barbara - I spent my college years there and we'd have stayed there if we'd been able to find local jobs.

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    1. What a fun place to get married! Jobs, that's the catch isn't it? Once upon a time Andrew read meters there, for the gas company. Of course he didn't live there but rather drove up from Ventura every day.

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  7. So cool. That beautiful tile floor would be an amazing porch or veranda floor. Great find.

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    1. I could have wandered the streets there for days!

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  8. Sometimes the best things are found by accident. The tile work is incredible! I'm a fan of old buildings as it seems like new construction is so much more about machine made utility rather than human made beauty.

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    1. I always chose to live in old apartment buildings in Seattle, the character! I had a friend who would visit and was not able to hide her disdain, always pointing out new buildings and asking why I didn't move there. No way!

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  9. I second your opinion of the Court House, and it's got a great palm collection surrounding the building. I usually visit it each time I'm in Santa Barbara, along with Alice Keck Park. Going up to the bell tower does give some magnificent views.

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    1. My husband found Alice Keck Park on the map and so we trekked up there to explore, what a treasure! It was on the way back that we discovered the courthouse.

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