Historic Resource Surveys

Lower Riviera Survey

The Lower Riviera derives its distinctive character from synthesizing natural environmental features and the built environment. Steeply sloping hillsides are a defining feature of the topography and influenced the picturesque arrangement of streets and lots, a visual element of the neighborhood. Steeply sloping hillsides with outcroppings and sandstone provided the material for the extensive series of walls, walkways, and other dominant features.

Waterfront Historical Survey 

The original City of Santa Barbara Waterfront Area Survey was conducted between September 1999 and October 2000 through joint efforts of City staff, historic preservation consultants Historic Resources Group/San Buenaventura Research Associates, Inc. and volunteers trained by Alexandra C. Cole of Preservation Planning Associates, Inc.  The survey included the full length of the waterfront area that was bound by the freeway 101, Santa Barbara Community College, the beach and the zoo.  The survey was completed under the guidance of the HLC and staff of the Community Development Department’s Planning Division using methodology and criteria developed by the California Office of Historic Preservation and the National Park Service.  Approximately 500 properties were surveyed and the survey identified properties that were eligible for individual listing as City Landmarks/Structures of Merit, as well as a potential historic district due to the large collection of historic resources at the western end of the City’s Waterfront, known as West Beach.  In 2013, the contributing properties to the Potential West Beach Historic District were added to the City’s Potential Historic Resources List.  The individually significant buildings surveyed in the area that have not yet been designated as historic resources will be added to the City’s Potential Historic Resources list in the winter of 2014.

West Downtown Historical Survey

Conducted in January of 2012 by Applied Earth Works, Inc., the West Downtown Survey encompasses the area bound by De La Guerra to the north, State Street to the East, and bordered both to the West and the South by the 101 freeway.  The survey was completed under the guidance of the HLC and staff of the Community Development Department’s Planning Division using methodology and criteria developed by the California Office of Historic Preservation and the National Park Service.  The West Downtown Survey concluded that there were two distinct potentially historic districts within close proximity to each other.  The Lower De La Vina District, set between Cota and De La Guerra, has its roots in the late 19th Century and early 20th.  The district is primarily residential, and home to a collection of Victorian and early Craftsman bungalows.  The Castillo District, which is slightly younger than the Lower De La Vina District, is also situated south of De La Guerra and is a prime example of the shift from Victorian styles to the Arts and Crafts bungalows that dominate the neighborhood. In addition to these two individually significant districts, many of the properties within the West Downtown Historic District are significant on their own. With beautiful examples of Craftsman bungalows to small Spanish Colonial Revival and National Folk style single family residences, the area covered by the West Downtown Survey could be described as a complete catalog of the architectural styles used in the early development of Santa Barbara’s residential neighborhoods.