Self-Guided Tours

The Santa Barbara Courthouse docents just announced a self-guided walking tour of the courthouse exterior starting Labor Day weekend using your cell phone or tablet or to view the tour on a computer anywhere with wifi. The courthouse interior remains closed except for official court business and docent-led tours are suspended due to COVID-19.

Docents have been doing their thing since the 1970s – free in-person tours. Work has already begun on a self-guided tour of the interior to supplement docent-led tours when the courthouse opens to the general public. Our courthouse is recognized by many as the best example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture anywhere and one of the most beautiful public buildings in the United States. Many of us drive by it every day. I encourage you to stop and take a walk. Don’t forget to keep your distance and wear a mask.

The web-based self-guided tour can be found using sbcourthouse.org.