Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara (Spanish: Santa Bárbara, meaning 'Saint Barbara') is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting Alaska, the city lies between the steeply rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Santa Barbara's climate is often described as Mediterranean, and the city has been dubbed "The American Riviera".[11] According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the city's population was 88,665.[12]
For the county, see Santa Barbara County, California. For the island, see Santa Barbara Island. For the wine region, see Santa Barbara County wine.
Santa Barbara
United States
April 9, 1850[1]
Randy Rowse[3]
42.00 sq mi (108.78 km2)
19.50 sq mi (50.51 km2)
22.50 sq mi (58.27 km2) 53.61%
49 ft (15 m)
88,665
91st in California
4,546.92/sq mi (1,755.58/km2)
3,688.9/sq mi (1,424.3/km2)
446,475 (US: 123rd)
UTC−7 (PDT)
In addition to being a popular tourist and resort destination, the city has a diverse economy that includes a large service sector, education, technology, health care, finance, agriculture, manufacturing, and local government. In 2004, the service sector accounted for 35% of local employment.[13]
Area institutions of higher learning include the University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara City College, Westmont College, and Antioch University. The city is served by Santa Barbara Airport and train service is provided by Amtrak, which operates the Pacific Surfliner, which runs from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.
The Santa Barbara area is connected via U.S. Highway 101 to Los Angeles 100 mi (160 km) to the southeast and San Francisco 325 mi (525 km) to the northwest. Behind the city, in and beyond the Santa Ynez Mountains, is the Los Padres National Forest, which contains several remote wilderness areas. Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary are located approximately 20 miles (30 km) offshore.
The first Monterey-style adobe in California was built on State Street of Santa Barbara by the wealthy merchant Alpheus Thompson.[67] The dominant architectural themes of Santa Barbara are the Mediterranean Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival and the related Mission Revival style, encouraged through design guidelines adopted by city leaders after the 1925 earthquake destroyed much of the downtown commercial district.[68] Residential architectural styles in Santa Barbara reflect the era of their construction. Many late-1800s Victorian homes remain downtown and in the "Upper East" neighborhood. California bungalows are common, built in the early decades of the 20th century. Spanish Colonial Revival-style homes built after 1925 are common all over the city, especially in newer upscale residential areas like Montecito and Hope Ranch. Notable modernist and contemporary homes can be found as well.
Notable architects who practiced in Santa Barbara include:[69]
Santa Barbara has a range of neighborhoods with distinctive histories, architecture, and culture. While considerable consensus exists as to the identification of neighborhood names and boundaries, variations exist between observers. For example, real estate agents may use different names than those used by public utilities or municipal service providers, such as police, fire, or water services. The following is a list of neighborhoods with descriptions and comments on each.
Arts and culture[edit]
Performing arts[edit]
Santa Barbara contains numerous performing art venues, including the 2,000 seat Arlington Theatre, which is the largest indoor performance venue in Santa Barbara and site of the annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Other major venues include the Lobero Theatre, a historic building and favorite venue for small concerts; the Granada Theater, the tallest building downtown, originally built by contractor C.B. Urton in 1924, but with the theatre remodeled and reopened in March 2008; and the Santa Barbara Bowl, a 4,562 seat outdoor amphitheater in a canyon at the base of the Riviera.
The city is considered a haven for classical music lovers with the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra, a professional opera company,[94] and many non-profit classical music groups (such as CAMA). Several youth orchestras are also located in Santa Barbara, such as the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony.[95] The Music Academy of the West, located in Montecito, hosts an annual music festival in the summer, drawing renowned students and professionals.
Sports[edit]
Athletics teams wearing the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos uniform are some of the most popular spectator sports locally. The Gauchos field 20 varsity teams in NCAA Division I, most of which play in the Big West Conference. Popular teams include the men's soccer team, which averages over 3,800 fans per game,[107] and the men's basketball team, which averages over 2,300 fans per game.[108]
Santa Barbara annually hosts the Semana Nautica Summer Sports Festival.[109] One of the main events of the festival is the Semana Nautica 15K, the oldest continuously running race on California's central coast.[110] Nite Moves is a popular local 5k race, with an optional ocean swim portion, open to all ages and held on Wednesday evenings from May to the end of August.[111]
Surfing is a part of Santa Barbara culture. The late Bruce Brown's cult classic documentary, The Endless Summer, put surfing on the map, and he was often seen around town prior to his passing in December 2017. Surfing legend Pat Curren and his son, three time world champion Tom Curren, as well as ten time world champion Kelly Slater, and other popular surfers such as Shaun Tompson, Jack Johnson and Chris Brown call Santa Barbara home. The Channel Islands block summer surf swells that come from the tropics or further south, the southern hemisphere. For these reasons Santa Barbara is viewed as a winter surf location.
Santa Barbara has many parks, ranging from small spaces within the urban environment to large, semi-wilderness areas that remain within the city limits. Some notable parks within the city limits are as follows:
Some notable parks and open spaces just outside the city limits include:
In addition to these parks, there are other hiking trails in Santa Barbara. A 6–7 mile hike from Gaviota State Park traverses the mountains with an ocean view.[112]
Government[edit]
In 2015, the city council voted to change from at-large elections to district elections for city council seats.[113]
All of Santa Barbara County falls into California's 24th congressional district. The district leans towards the Democratic Party, with a PVI of D+10,[114] making it politically aligned with the rest of California overall. The current Representative is Salud Carbajal.
Several films have been fully or partially set in Santa Barbara, including:
Psych was set in Santa Barbara, though White Rock, British Columbia, Canada, was used as the filming location.[125]
Santa Barbara, the popular soap opera set locally, aired on NBC from 1984 to 1993.[126]
The TV series Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law was set in Santa Barbara.
An American Family, which is known as the first American reality television show, chronicled the daily lives of a family living in Santa Barbara.[127]
A portion of the 2020 video game The Last of Us Part II takes place in Santa Barbara.[128]
In 2022, shooting began on season 4 of the reality TV series Love Island, which is set at Dos Pueblos Ranch, a 214-acre ranch west of Goleta.
