Santa Barbara Architecture

Dec 3rd	The American Architect, George Washington Smith and His Life and Work in Santa Barbara and Montecito CA.
2009	Categories: Santa Barbara Architecture

George Washington Smith, (February 22, 1876 – 1930), was an American architect that has an extremely prominent name and history here in Santa Barbara and Montecito CA.  Most of his noted work here is most likely for popularizing the Spanish-Colonial Revival style in early 20th Century America. George Washington Smith was born and raised in Pennsylvania.  He studied architecture at Harvard University, but reportedly never graduated due to personal reasons.  In his mid 30's after various jobs making ends meet, he started to devote himself to painting and the study of art.  Shortly thereafter he married Mary Catherine Greenough and moved... Read more

Tags: george washington smith montecito, george washington smith santa barbara

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Mar 4th	Santa Barbara, California receives “Distinctive Destination” Award
2009	Categories: Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Architecture

Santa Barbara California's beauty and quality of life are renown on a national and international scale.  From the temperate climate and scenic coastline to the classic Spanish architecture and cultural events, there is much to offer locals and tourists on a daily basis. Earlier this year, Santa Barbara CA. was affirmed once again as a terrific place when the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) publicly announced the city as one of its 2009 Distinctive Destinations.  The award was accepted by Mayor Marty Blum and a plaque commemorating the honor was given to Santa Barbara.  The ceremony was rightfully held... Read more

Tags: santa barbara award, santa barbara ca architecture, santa barbara lifestyle

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Sep 26th	Things to Do in Santa Barbara, California – The Mission District
2008	Categories: Lifestyle / Things to Do, Mission Canyon Neighborhood, Santa Barbara Architecture, The Upper East Neighborhood

Whether you are a local, in town visiting family and/or friends, or here on vacation in Santa Barbara, California, there is never a lack of activities and things to do in our wonderful seaside resort community.  Here below is the second installment in a series of articles that point out some of Santa Barbara's most prominent local attractions.  Some of these will be cultural, some dining, some active pursuits and some I am still deciding on.  This second installment will be focusing on... Santa Barbara Mission District: The Mission District is one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Santa Barbara and is home to the... Read more

Tags: santa barbara attractions, santa barbara local attractions, santa barbara mission canyon, santa barbara mission district, santa barbara real estate, santa barbara upper east, things to do in santa barbara, vacation in santa barbara california

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Sep 22nd	Things to Do in Santa Barbara, California – The Downtown Area
2008	Categories: Downtown Neighborhood, Lifestyle / Things to Do, Santa Barbara Architecture

Whether you are a local, in town visiting family and/or friends, or here on vacation in Santa Barbara, California, there is never a lack of activities and things to do in our wonderful seaside resort community.  Starting today, I am going to write the first installment in a series of articles that point out some of Santa Barbara's most prominent local attractions.  Some of these will be cultural, some dining, some active pursuits and some I am still deciding on.  This first installment will be focusing on... Santa Barbara Downtown Attractions: The Downtown area is dominated by the main street in Santa Barbara, State... Read more

Tags: montecito real estate, santa barbara attractions, santa barbara downtown, santa barbara local attractions, santa barbara real estate, things to do in santa barbara, vacation in santa barbara california

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Aug 19th	Taking Sides on Future Path for Downtown Santa Barbara Real Estate Projects
2008	Categories: Downtown Neighborhood, Santa Barbara Architecture

As more and more larger multi-unit Santa Barbara real estate development projects get presented to the City of Santa Barbara for approval, discussions abound over the future development path the city is taking with these luxury condo projects.  In layman's terms, the debate is clear and simple. Side A: Wants to have strong height restrictions in place and preserve the "beauty" of Santa Barbara Side B: Wants to avoid urban sprawl and therefore would like to build inward with less height restrictions than what currently exist In my view, the politics of this debate have not been too prevalent as far as topics of conversation go... Read more

Tags: downtown santa barbara real estate, multi-unit santa barbara real estate, santa barbara luxury condo, santa barbara luxury townhome, santa barbara real estate, santa barbara real estate projects

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Feb 22nd	How Green is Your Santa Barbara Home…and Realtor?
2008	Categories: Green Housing & Living, Santa Barbara Architecture

As the Santa Barbara real estate market has slowed in the last 18 months, it makes sense that some Realtors are trying to stand out with niche marketing efforts.  One of these niches seems to be Realtors marketing themselves as eco-friendly and green.  While I am 100% supportive for anyone with an eye on environmentally conscious action (real estate or otherwise), make sure your Realtor is not using "basic green talk" as cursory knowledge of green building simply as a marketing ploy in a tougher market.  Again, I loudly applaud any Realtor that is going out of their way to learn about solar, energy-efficient appliances, geo-thermal pumps,... Read more

Tags: earth friendly design, eco-friendly, energy efficient appliances, green, green building, non-toxic paint, realtor, santa barbara home, santa barbara real estate market

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Jan 17th	Santa Barbara, CA Rated Amongst the Best Mid-sized Downtowns in California
2008	Categories: Downtown Neighborhood, Santa Barbara Architecture

When people think of well thought out downtowns, obviously Santa Barbara comes to mind.  Recently, the California Planning and Development Report voted Santa Barbara as #2 in mid-sized (pop. of 75,000 - 290,000 people) downtowns, only trailing Pasadena.  The report states that Santa Barbara is a California icon that fits numerous criteria of being a delightful urban place that is both manageable and pleasant with a sense of place and a feeling of vibrancy. For many locals, Santa Barbara downtown could fit on any of these sorts of lists because of simply its overall "feel".  Santa Barbara downtown is blessed with numerous open public spaces and... Read more

Tags: american riviera, Downtown Neighborhood, Santa Barbara, santa barbara downtown area, santa barbara downtown real estate

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Jan 16th	Santa Barbara Races Ahead on Energy Efficient Real Estate Construction Guidelines.
2008	Categories: Green Housing & Living, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Architecture

I recently read this article in The Independent (An excellent free local paper in Santa Barbara providing well written weekly updated information on local News, Events, People, Arts, Real Estate etc.) that should excite anyone that is concerned for our future generations.  The guts of the article are about: 1) Santa Barbara City Council being a leader in energy efficient standards 2) The commitment in Santa Barbara to reduce energy use and greenhouse emissions for all new residential real estate construction as well as retrofits 3) Architecture 2030 Challenge "Some say governments move too slowly and that bureaucracies can impede progress, but just recently the Santa... Read more

Tags: energy efficient, real estate, Real Estate News, Santa Barbara

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