No, I didn’t get arrested. Neither did Ursula. We went into the courthouse unshackled and free, and we left the same way. What brought us here were the glorious architectural features, incredible interior art, and magnificent views from atop the bell tower. You’ll see what I mean in a moment.
We departed Mission Santa Barbara on foot and headed southeast along Santa Barbara Street. Along the way we discovered the enchanting Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens. After our detour through the park, we continued southeast until reaching the Santa Barbara Courthouse. This architecture wonder has been called the, “. . . grandest Spanish Colonial Revival structure ever built.” The person who made that claim should know, as it was none other than Charles Willard Moore.
And here are the views from atop the bell tower, inside the courthouse, and on the hike to get there:
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- Santa Barbara in the distance
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- More magnificent ceilings
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- Courthouse details
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- Courthouse tiled stairway
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- Courthouse fountain
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- The views from the bell tower
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- Courthouse views
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- Santa Barbara Courthouse and sunken garden
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- Incredible ceilings
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- Looking toward the coast
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- Courthouse view
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- Courthouse tiles
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- Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens
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- Courthouse details
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- Courthouse bell tower
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- Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens
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- Murals in the courtroom
Decisions — Murder in Paradise
The Globe — Murder in Luxury
R. Doug Wicker — Author 
Stunning architecture. Is this the same tower used in Hitchcock’s Vertigo by any chance? Cause it looks a bit like it.
I did some checking on that for you Cora. Alas, no. Vertigo was mostly filmed in and around San Francisco. The famous tower scene was the Mission San Juan Bautista between San Jose and Monterey.