De la Guerra Plaza

The town's civic heart — City Hall, and the birthplace year of Fiesta.

Key facts

The city's civic and social center since the mid-19th century; formally dedicated as a public square in 1853
Santa Barbara City Hall, on the plaza, built 1923 in Spanish Colonial Revival
Birthplace, in spirit, of Old Spanish Days Fiesta, first held in 1924
A shaded public green — the natural mid-walk pause

Narration transcript

Come into the open and let your shoulders drop for a minute — you've reached De la Guerra Plaza, the civic heart of Santa Barbara, and a good place to just stand still. People have gathered on this ground since the town's earliest days; it was formally made the public square back in 1853, and it's been the place where Santa Barbara does its official business and its celebrating ever since.

That handsome building with the tower is City Hall, built in 1923 — and notice the date. It's Spanish Colonial Revival, and it went up before the earthquake, one more sign that the town had already chosen this look for itself. When the quake came two years later, the city wasn't inventing a style from scratch. It was doubling down on one it had already fallen for.

And this plaza is the birthplace, in spirit, of the city's great party. In 1924, Santa Barbara held its first Old Spanish Days — Fiesta — the summer festival that still fills these streets with color every August. Same idea as the buildings, same year, same romance of a Spanish past: a whole town agreeing to play a part.

So this is the middle of the story and the middle of the walk. Catch your breath under the trees.

When you're ready for the last stop, head west, back toward State Street — just a couple of minutes away. You'll come out onto the part of State that started its own newest argument about what a downtown is for.