Courthouse Legacy Foundation board president Jan Ferrell, left, with event sponsors Jeff and Lisa Gorrell at the organization’s annual Fiesta fundraiser. 
Event sponsors Bill Mahan, a CLF board member, and wife Nyna. 
Denise Sanford and Paul Uyesaka. 
Courthouse Legacy Foundation founding trustee Robert Ooley, left, and Rodney Baker. 
Guests enjoy the cocktail setting in the historic Mural Room. 
Angelique and Erik Davis. 
Mareva and Herb Barthels.
The historic Santa Barbara County Courthouse and the annual Old Spanish Days celebration combined to provide a dramatic setting for a Courthouse Legacy Foundation fundraiser benefiting the preservation and restoration of the Santa Barbara landmark.
Now in its ninth year, the party attracted donors, historians, locals and out-of-towners to the newly restored Mural Room on the courthouse’s second-floor Loggia to experience Las Noches de Ronda on the stage below.
“The Courthouse Legacy Foundation’s annual Fiesta party began with a small group of board members and their friends sitting up on the Loggia enjoying the dancing below in the Sunken Garden,” CLF board president Jan Ferrell said. “It has now become our most profitable and highly anticipated fundraiser of the year.”
The sold-out event kicked off with a lively cocktail reception with guests enjoying the grandeur and artistry of the Mural Room, with artwork depicting a timeline of Santa Barbara’s history on the ornate walls and ceiling of the iconic room.
During the restoration of the Mural Room, CLF board members Ed Lenvik, AIA, and Bill Mahan, AIA, took notice of the beauty of the Mural Room ceiling that had gone unnoticed because of poor lighting.
“We raised an additional $150,000 for special lighting both for the murals and the ceiling,” Mahan said. “I’m sure that everyone who enjoyed this 2018 Fiesta party also enjoyed the beautiful effect of the new Mural Room lighting, designed by CLF board member Ann Kale.”
Considered the jewel of the courthouse, the Mural Room originally was used as the assembly room for the county Board of Supervisors, which met there for more than 30 years, until 1967, when noncourt functions of county government vacated the space and moved into a new building across the street.
The exclusive party also provided a private tour of the national landmark with bird’s-eye views of Las Noches de Ronda entertainment — songs, folklorica and flamenco dancing — in the Sunken Garden below.
Established in 2004, the Courthouse Legacy Foundation remains dedicated to the conservation, preservation and restoration of the courthouse, designated a national historic landmark in 2005. CLF is run by an all-volunteer board whose year-round efforts raise funds to ensure that the courthouse’s legacy and historic significance remain.
“We love it that our group is instrumental in keeping this beautiful National Historic Landmark preserved,” Ferrell said.
Designed in a Spanish-Moorish style in 1929 by architects William Mooser and son William Mooser Jr., the courthouse originally was built after the 1925 earthquake destroyed the former Greek revival courthouse as two courtrooms located in the Figueroa Wing.
The renowned building receives critical funding from the nonprofit Courthouse Legacy Foundation, which was established in 2004 and governed by a board of trustees whose mission is to conserve and restore artistic features of the courthouse.
Thanks to the many friends of the courthouse, the Courthouse Legacy Foundation has raised more than $1 million to refurbish and repair structures at the courthouse, including the Heraldic Paintings on the Ceiling of the Great Archway (2010), the Spirit of the Ocean Fountain (2011) and the Tower Clock (2012).
“Our current project is the restoration of the Grand Arch,” Ferrell said. “This includes removing the white coating from the sandstone, repairing mortar, replacing deteriorated stones and repairing sculpture work. We still have about $250,000 left to raise before we can start the work.”
Following the restoration of the Grand Arch, CLF will focus on refinishing the windows on the Figueroa Street side of the building, with some in such bad shape that rain comes into those chambers.
“The courthouse belongs to all of the people,” Mahan said. “So we all need to be stewards of such a beautiful work of architecture and contribute to its restoration.”
Click here for more information about becoming a member of the foundation. Click here to make an online donation.
— Noozhawk iSociety columnist Melissa Walker can be reached at mwalker@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.
