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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- Courthouse view
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- Santa Barbara Courthouse and sunken garden
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- Courthouse tiles
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- Courthouse views
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- Courthouse fountain
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- Murals in the courtroom
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- The views from the bell tower
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- More magnificent ceilings
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- Courthouse bell tower
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- Courthouse tiled stairway
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- Looking toward the coast
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- Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens
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- Courthouse details
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- Courthouse details
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- Incredible ceilings
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- Santa Barbara in the distance
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- Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens
Decisions — Murder in Paradise
The Globe — Murder in Luxury
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.