Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Santa Barbara

The Santa Barbara Historical Museum offers visitors a richly immersive glimpse into the region’s storied past. Founded in 1932, the museum serves as both a guardian and storyteller of over 500 years of local history-from the Chumash Native American era through Spanish colonial rule and American statehood.

Housed in a handsome mid-20th-century structure alongside two restored adobes, Casa Covarrubias, 1817, and a 1836 historic adobe, its central courtyard and charming Spanish-style architecture feel perfectly in tune with the city’s Old-Spanish-style aesthetic.

The museum’s signature exhibit, The Story of Santa Barbara, guides visitors through thematic galleries that explore the lives, customs, and artifacts of the Chumash, Spanish settlers, Californio ranchers, and the city’s growth into a modern American community.

Visitors can explore an extensive collection of over 100,000 items-including decorative arts, furniture, saddles, costumes, and compelling fine art from important regional artists like Edward Borein, Ludmilla Welch, and Clarence Mattei. The Edward Borein Gallery and Gledhill Research Library offer deeper dives into the region’s cultural and artistic heritage.

Beyond galleries, the museum hosts rotating exhibitions on local traditions (such as cowboy culture and the 1925 earthquake), plus educational programs, scholarly talks, walking tours, and seasonal events-many of which are open-air affairs in the scenic courtyard. The museum often hosts talks led by local historians and takes part in downtown’s First Thursday evening art events.