Historic Preservation

On August 13, 2025, the Santa Barbara Historic Landmarks Commission designated this charming 1930 Tudor Revival home a Structure of Merit. 
 
Many of Santa Barbara’s historic landmarks are in downtown, but this house is located in Santa Barbara’s west side neighborhood.  The Westside neighborhood has a large amount of beautiful historic resources, as much of the area was developed in the 1920s. Located at 825 West Pedregosa Street—this house sits on a street that was fully developed by 1930. This house was designed in the Tudor style, which is unique on this block full of lovely Craftsman style homes.  Together they create a charming ensemble and 1920s streetscape. This gem stands out with its arched entryway leading to a welcoming front portico.  The Tudor style homes were promoted through the Better Homes in America program of the 1920s that promoted small, high quality homes. The style was also promoted by the Small House Design Competition of 1924 held locally in Santa Barbara by the Community Arts Association that published a book of Small House Designs designed by architects that could be reproduced for people of modest incomes that could not afford an individual architect.  The Tudor style was popular in the 1920s and 1930s as it was a style that looked to English cottages for inspiration and this house has been lovingly maintained and is key to the diverse architectural repertoire of Santa Barbara.

The City utilizes the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines for determining the significance of a project’s impact to historic resources. Some projects are required to evaluate potential impacts in a Historic Structures/Sites Report prepared by a qualified historian and then formally reviewed by the HLC. All the Historic Structures/Sites Reports reviewed by HLC are now available on-line: Click here to view the reports