Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation
ph (805) 965-0093
fax (805) 568-1999
PO Box 388,
Santa Barbara,
CA 93102

Newly renovated and opened Santa Barbara Presidio Research Center. Photo by Michael H. Imwalle.

The Santa Barbara Presidio Research Center is dedicated to the acquisition and dissemination of historical knowledge required for the development of El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park. The Center advances whatever research is necessary to assure the historical integrity of the restoration and reconstruction of the Presidio, and to inform the State Parks program of interpretation and public education. The Center's program of research shall encompass (1) the history of the Presidio during the Spanish and Mexican eras of California's history, including the Presidio's political, social, economic, cultural, intellectual, and ecological setting; and (2) the history of the historic preservation movement in Santa Barbara County, including the role of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation in that movement.

Plan Your Visit RESEARCH CENTER HOURS By prior appointment only, Tuesday - 9:00 AM to Noon, Wednesday and Friday - 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The Santa Barbara Presidio Research Center is located at 215 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara, CA. For more information contact Presidio Research Center Librarian Laurie Hannah at (805) 965-2004 or E-mail PRESIDIO RESEARCH CENTER ONLINE CATALOG CLICK HERE

To advance its goals, the Presidio Research Center collects, organizes and conserves pertinent historic records, acquires relevant scholarly publications, and sponsors programs of translation, research and publication.

The Presidio Research Center is available to all serious scholars in the Center's areas of research. Requests for research to be conducted solely by Research Center staff must be submitted in writing to and approved by the Executive Director.

Materials housed in the Presidio Research Center which may not be readily available at public or university libraries include:

• Presidio Research Center Online Catalog - A fully searchable database
  of the Center's holdings
  
• Historic photographs of Santa Barbara City and County
  
• Historic maps of Santa Barbara City and County
  
• Architectural drawings of El Paseo, Casa de la Guerra, and other local adobes
  
• Plans of Presidio and other historic building sites in Santa Barbara County
  
• Copies of original Spanish language documents (some translated) from the 18th and 19th centuries (some hard copies; many on microfilm)
  
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Co. maps for Santa Barbara (microfilm); 1903 original
  
• Historic American Building Surveys drawings for California (microfilm)
  
• Archives of El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Park
  
• Trust archival material

The Santa Barbara Presidio Research Center building circa 1940. Image courtesy of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum.

The Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation is proud to announce that it has recently relocated the Santa Barbara Presidio Research Center to the architecturally significant building at 215 East Canon Perdido Street in downtown Santa Barbara, which is within El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park.

The new Presidio Research Center now houses all Trust curatorial and research collections, making many items readily available to the public for the first time. The collections document and reflect the peoples who have lived in the Santa Barbara Presidio neighborhood since the eighteenth century. These artifacts, manuscripts, maps, photographs, and other materials are used to support El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park’s exhibits and educational programs, as well as to provide the public with unique resources for local history.

Interior view of the Santa Barbara Presidio Research Center. Photo by Michael H. Imwalle.

Housed in a classic Spanish-Colonial Revival building, the Presidio Research Center is located on the site of the former Santa Barbara School of the Arts, which opened its doors in the 1920s and served the community until 1938. The building later became part of the campus of the Adult Education Program of the Santa Barbara School District. In 1981, it was incorporated into El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park, which is operated under a long-term agreement between the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation and California State Parks.

Using original blueprints, the Trust and local contractors Channel Coast Corporation (CCC) have restored the building to its earliest appearance. The project included restoring the original exterior of the 1928 Spanish colonial revival building; remodeling the interior; restoring original interior woodwork and finish; and a seismic retrofit of the building. These renovations have provided larger, climate-controlled areas for study and for storage of archival materials.

Fundraising for the Presidio Resource Center began in 1999 for planning, and a capital campaign was
launched in 2003. In 2006 a $323,000 grant from the California Culture and Historical Endowment
(CCHE) together with matching funds provided by the Trust, completed the funding for the new
Resource Center. Thanks to the donations of hundreds of individuals, private foundations, City of Santa
Barbara Redevelopment Agency, and California State Parks, this valuable community is now complete.