Tag archives: Casa del Herrero

“Channing Peake – To Mexico and Beyond” is the latest event going on at Casa del Herrero. The Casa is that National Historic Landmark house in Montecito built by George Steedman in the1920s. It’s open to the public by reservation, but right now there is an extra treat. It’s an exhibit of the internationally celebrated […]

When ceramic artist Joan Rosenberg-Dent was invited to create a sculptural installation for the gardens of Casa del Herrero as part of a contemporary exhibition entitled “Symbiotic,” she immediately thought, “Well, of course, — abstracted flowers.” What followed was a unique collaboration between Joan and Lynda Weinman, who utilizes 3D clay printing techniques in her […]

For the first time in its history, Casa del Herrero has a sculpture exhibition placed throughout the estate’s historic gardens called “Symbiotic — Seven Contemporary Sculptors at Historic Casa del Herrero.” It began July 7 and will be on display until November 24, 2021. The Casa’s original builders (only the family members ever lived in […]

Christmas at the Casa: From Our Casa to Yours” will be a new experience this year. Usually Casa del Herrero is decorated with all the traditional trees and twinkling lights and is one of my favorite holiday events. This year it will be an amazing online Christmas boutique silent auction that opened November 1 and […]

Margaret Jane Dyruff (née Stivers), age 92, died peacefully of natural causes at home on October 7. She was born on December 27, 1927, in Ripley, Ohio to the late AJ Stivers II and Eliese Bambach Stivers. “Baby Jane” was the middle of five children, and was an active 4-H member and Girl Scout camper.  […]

Montecito’s Casa del Herrero will reopen to the general public next Wednesday, September 9. Closed since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Casa is ready to safely welcome tour guests back to the estate. While indoor spaces remain closed, guests will now engage in a reimagined self-guided garden tour. “The Casa’s original owner, George […]

While we’re waiting for this pandemic to subside it might be fun to learn a bit about one of our five National Historic Landmarks, the County Courthouse. The others are the Mission, Casa del Herrero, the Raphael Gonzales Adobe, and the Santa Barbara Club. As I write this the Courthouse has a lock on the […]

Santa Barbara has five National Historic Landmarks – the Courthouse, the Mission, the Raphael Gonzales Adobe, the Santa Barbara Club, and Casa del Herrero. The Casa is a great tourist attraction and I have been lucky enough to be a docent there for twenty years. I would like to tell you about the origins of […]

As Maria McCall, director of the MClub for the Montecito Bank and Trust said, “Visitors to the Casa are transported back to Montecito in the 1920s and 1930s – the heyday of the original owner George Fox Steedman. Designed by George Washington Smith, the Casa is one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial Revival […]

Casa del Herrero (House of the Blacksmith) is a National Historic Landmark in Montecito near upper village. George and Carrie Steedman came to Santa Barbara in the early ‘20s from St. Louis with George’s brother. His brother was diabetic and needed insulin. The only place in the whole United States to get it at that […]

The “Christmas at the Casa” gala this year was all about silver. Silver cloths on all the tables with greens sprayed silver and lighted cabinets on display filled with pieces of silver George Steedman had made in the ‘30s and ‘40s. He’s known to have made about one hundred pieces between 1927 and 1940, when […]

After seven years of living in Spain and going to many ferias, this one was a little different – no horses but lots of art. The board of trustees at Casa del Herrero held an Art Show and Garden Fair at the Casa. This year’s event was a celebration of creativity and preservation of the […]

Every year, Casa del Herrero (House of the Blacksmith) throws a Christmas party for its docents. It’s always after the house is decorated for its annual fundraising gala and the Christmas tours – cider and cookies included. This year it was centered on the loggia with a lovely catered spread of yummy munchies. This was […]

As Casa del Herrero executive director Jessica Tade said, “This is my favorite night of the year!” She was talking about the annual Christmas party at the Casa. This architect George Washington Smith house built in the early 20s for Carrie and George Steedman from St. Louis, Missouri is decked out in it’s finest “attire” […]

Casa del Herrero gave a tea in the blue and white garden to say “thank you” to its big donors. As executive director Jessica Tade said to them, “We couldn’t do it without you.” The event could have been in another era when hats and gloves were de rigueur. There was fine china, savory finger […]

Casa del Herrero staged another Feria Andalusia Art Show and Garden Fair this year to honor the Casa’s Spanish architectural heritage while celebrating the connection they share as a community. The 18-featured artists offered a variety of work from paintings to fine art photography and sculpture. These were all showcased on a perfect Santa Barbara […]

The Hollywood crowd must be asking why the Oscar’s ratings continued to decline again this year? Why is it that more people don’t want to watch a bunch of glitzy starlets with boob jobs and drunk on their own self-importance trying to impress each other? Could it be that they can’t help themselves from using […]

Heal the Ocean (HTO) has received numerous (some irate) phone calls regarding the mud being deposited on Goleta and Carpinteria beaches. Television media has also called for a response from us. We told them, and everyone else, we were investigating and would let everyone know when we knew the answer. We at HTO don’t believe […]

Every year, the Casa del Herrero staff gives a “thank you” Christmas cocktail party for its docents and volunteers. It follows a few days after the gala fundraiser so the house is decorated for that soirée and for the upcoming Christmas tours – a truly special time to visit the Casa. As they say, “It’s […]

Casa del Herrero Board of Trustees invited one and all to Christmas at the Casa, a celebration of preservation. This 11-acre estate was completed in 1925, the day of the great Santa Barbara earthquake. It sustained no damage, and Carrie and George Steedman moved in. It is now a National Historic Landmark and preserved for […]