Santa Barbara Mission, Santa Barbara

3 more images

The Santa Barbara Mission is the town's star historical attraction dating back to the late 1700s though various calamities make the present structure more truly from the early 1900s. No matter, the beautiful home to the Spanish Franciscans looks very much Old World and it's peaceful green setting makes for an even more impressive sight and place for contemplation. Tours of the interior are $4 but the grounds around it are free and perhaps its greatest asset, particularly the rose gardens.

This is the 10th of the California missions founded by the Spanish Franciscans, dating back to 1786. Today it is, of course, a popular and meaningful historical and tourist attraction, where you can still get a sense of what it was like in colonial days. The present buildings were restored after a big earthquake in the 1920s, and the original adobe look has been maintained.

Entrance to the mission includes going through several display rooms, where you can see religious artifacts, implements and tools for work, and old photos and reproductions. It is a very short history lesson on the mission years that glosses over the role of the missions and the fate of the native populations, which now are mostly gone. With the role to Christianize the Native Americans, the church brought them here and to the other missions, and as the decades passed they succumbed to disease and loss of their culture. Whether this was a glorious history or a tragedy is up for debate.

Regardless of all this, the mission and its grounds can be appreciated on many levels. The architectural legacy is beautiful and has had a great impact on much of California.

An important part of the mission complex is the center courtyard, which like European cloisters of the time period, are centered around a fountain and ringed by arcades. The Moorish style fountain is 200 years old, and in colonial days the basin was used by Native Americans for washing clothes. The garden now has some interesting cacti and succulents, but once was a working area. The buildings around the garden now house some offices and classrooms.

After walking through the displays in the rooms of the museum, this is a nice place to pause and think about what it was like in the earlier days, when the Spanish and Native Americans had a complete life built around this building complex where now tourists pass by for a few moments.

4 more images

They call this Mission the Queen of the Missions and one of the most remarkable things about this mission is that since it was founded in 1786 it has been in continuous use.
Personally I think the area around the mission is what is beautiful. This is the sixth mission that I have visited and it is the 10th of the 21 missions in California to be built. Padre Junipero Serra, who founded the first nine missions, had died 2 years earlier. I dont really concider this Mission the most beautiful. San Juan Capistrano for example was alot nicer in my opinion.
This place is busy, theres alot of people coming in and out and for some reason there doesnt seem to be alot of room. I did still enjoy coming here. Like I have said before I have a goal of visiting all 21 missions.
Self-guided tours may be taken daily from 9 am to 5 pm and docent led tours may be arranged by appointment.

Mission Santa Barbara is a Spanish style building built originally in 1786 and rebuilt and restored to it's present state. It was a Franciscan Order of Friars that oversaw the project of building in 1784 with Father Junipero Serra heading up the taskmasters over the local Chumash Indians who did most of the building.

Today, as a reminder to the path of the padres in California history, the Mission is groomed for display of the relics of the past. Across the street is over 1000 rose bushes in a parkland setting. Perhaps this rose garden was groomed as an offering to the Chumash for the labor they preformed for the padres. I would like to believe that to be the case.

The outside fountain and the structure of the Mission is a thing of beauty. Time to take the camera out for that, moment in time, snap-shot.

1 more image

Probably the highlight of any visit to the city. As a photography hobbyist, there's so much to photograph here. It's really nice to see some of California's history and there's some exhibits that you can see to educate yourself. The chapel is absolutely gorgeous and hopefully you visit this place when there isn't a wedding going on because otherwise the wedding will be off-limits during the duration of the event. You buy your tickets for a really cheap price and it's pretty much a self-guided tour. You can probably go through the tour in about 20 mins.

On December 4, 1786, the 10th mission of 21 was founded. The Santa Barbara Mission is known as the "Queen" of the Missions. It has survived several earthquakes, flood and fire throughout it's illustrious history and still stands tall 221 years later.

You can take a self guided tour for the price of $5. It is a working church. Please be respectful if you visit on a day when mass is being said and then enjoy the grounds and the museum

3 more images

This is a must see, it really is, and it won't take up much of your time. The archeticure is stunning, you feel like you just walked in on a Clint Eastwood movie. There is a little museum tour inside as well as a view of the courtyard in the inner part. This will only take an hour or so, bring your camera.