The Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation is pleased to release its 2025-2027 Strategic Plan. This is the organization’s third strategic plan.  Our first, released in 2019, was characterized by a vision to represent the diversity of Santa Barbara and its complex history, and to care for the Presidio Neighborhood. This vision was developed through focus groups (held during the 2018 Thomas Fire!), when we consulted with friends and neighbors who played various roles in our organization and in the community. 

On Sunday, June 1st, the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (SBTHP) hosted its fourth annual Presidio Orchard Party (POP!). We welcomed over 100 community members, who came together to enjoy delicious food, refreshing drinks, and listen to live music by local musicians in support of SBTHP’s mission.

We partnered with the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara (AFSB) to bring over sixty youth (and their family members) to Casa de la Guerra for an educational afternoon of sketching and interacting with fellow aspiring architects and professional, Santa Barbara-based architects.

Theodore S. Gonzalves, Ph.D., is a scholar of comparative cultural studies and a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. A former interim director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, Dr. Gonzalves has a uniquely impressive resume. He has taught in the U.S., Spain, and the Philippines. He is an accomplished musician. He served as president of the Association for Asian American Studies and currently serves on the board of the American Council of Learned Societies.   

Here at SBTHP’s Presidio Research Center (PRC) we welcome hundreds of scholars, researchers and students each year. This week, I had the privilege of sitting down and interviewing Dr. Amy Andrea Martinez, a visiting scholar who has been spending time with our PRC collections over the past few weeks. 

Each February, the we partner with Downtown Santa Barbara’s 1st Thursday Artwalk program to offer a free, open house-style event in which the public can visit El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park after hours, and experience the Chapel, Parade Ground, Padre’s Quarters, and Comandancia after dark and by candlelight.

On Saturday, December 14th, 2024, the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (SBTHP) held its annual Volunteer Olive Picking Day at the historic Santa Inés Mission Mills property.