The Santa Barbara City Council has designated the house at 1126 Santa Barbara St. as a Historic Landmark. The house was built by Edwards and Plunkett in 1930 for Thomas M. Storke, under the Spanish colonial revival style. Storke was the publisher of The Santa Barbara News-Press, and the building was created to house a print shop on the ground floor with apartments directly above it.

In addition to the building’s rightful place in Santa Barbara history, it continues to service and support the interests of the community. The 1126 Santa Barbara St. building is currently occupied by Hollister & Brace, a tenant there for 38 years.

In addition to its legal practice, over the past 50 years, Hollister & Brace inndivicuals have taken leadership positions in the community, serving as officers, directors, and trustees of various community organizations, including Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce, Trust for Historic Preservation, Downtown Organization of Santa Barbara, Inc., Santa Barbara Foundation, Courthouse Legacy Foundation.

The 1126 Santa Barbara St. structure is the third commercial building in The Towbes Group portfolio to receive the Historic Landmark designation, which joins Riviera Park and Montecito Bank & Trust’s main branch building at the corner of State and Carrillo streets.

“We have a deep-rooted history in this community, and we are thrilled to manage and maintain a portfolio of beautiful and historic buildings in downtown Santa Barbara,” said Robert Skinner, CEO of The Towbes Group. “Downtown has a strong significance to us, especially as we recently constructed and moved into our new corporate office at 33 E. Carrillo St.”

The Towbes Group, Inc., headquartered in Santa Barbara, is a property management company with 60 years of experience in the Tri-County area. It has developed more than 6,000 residential units and 1.8 million square feet of commercial properties, primarily in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties.

— Jessica Doss for The Towbes Group.