The Santa Barbara Courthouse Legacy Foundation’s multiphase conservation project for the renowned Great Arch is closer to completion, and the organization is seeking the community’s philanthropic donations to support preserving the local treasure.
Completion of the first phase of restoration is supported by the CLF’s efforts in fundraising and donations, as well as grant funding.
The foundation so far has raised about $100,000 for the first phase of the project, and organization officials hope to raise an additional $220,000 to finish repair and restoration work.
“If it wasn’t done, you would probably see some problematic erosion in the Great Arch,” said Renee Fairbanks, a Santa Barbra County-based attorney and board president of the CLF.
The Great Arch and gateway into the Santa Barbara County Courthouse, at 1100 Anacapa St., as well as the courthouse administration building, the Hall of Records on Anapamu Street and courthouse Sunken Garden had developed a post-historic, blanched coating on its sandstone masonry, according to the CLF. That is compromising its architectural integrity, creating a greater risk of ongoing deterioration, the organization said in a statement.
The foundation’s plan is now focusing on fundraising to begin the second phase of the restoration project, which will address the maintenance items and the reparation of the stone cracks, failed mortar joints, existing erosion and loss of ornamental stone features on the Great Arch.
The organization engaged an architectural preservation firm to carry out a series of projects to conserve the sandstone masonry consistent with the standards set for national historic landmarks, according to the CLF.
The CLF contracted with EverGreene Architectural Arts to perform the work to remove the coating and restore the massive Great Arch at the courthouse.
“The sandstone in the Great Arch had this white coating on it,” Fairbanks said. “The hopes behind it was to preserve it, but what happened is that it did just the opposite.”
The first phase involved cleaning the biological growth and surface soiling, with the recommendation to complete annual aqueous cleaning to minimize future accumulations of soiling, deposits and biological growth, plus modification of the fountain water circulation and purification systems to prevent more deterioration of the sculpted figures located on the Great Arch.
The first phase was completed in October.
The presence of a blanched coating visible on the side of the arch facing Anacapa Street was an area of concern, the organization said.
In an attempt to preserve the stone, the CLF said, the coating was likely applied decades ago.
The coating had trapped moisture in the stone, said Ed Lenvik, a CLF board member and local architect.
“We had to get that off so the sandstone could breathe,” Lenvik said.
Removal of the coating, it turned out, was a scientific process. Gentle chemical treatments and scrubbing the area would not work because it would damage the surface, Lenvik said.
The architectural preservation firm initially planned to use a laser beam to fry off the white material on the stone, but that process also didn’t work.
EverGreene Architectural Arts switched gears and looked at other options. The company used a spray of dry ice to freeze the white material and it slicked off.
“This white coating is now gone,” Fairbanks said. “The natural sandstone is there.”
Santa Barbara County is responsible for the general, day-to-day maintenance of the public building. However, it does not have the funding to repair artistic or architectural aspects to authentically restore the structure, according to the CLF.
The CLF is the only nonprofit organization with the sole purpose of providing the historic conservation, preservation and restoration of the courthouse, consistent with the status as a historic property, according to the organization.
Santa Barbara granted the courthouse a city landmark in 1981, and the site received a historic landmark designation in 2003 and a national historic landmark in 2005.
Contributions of money to the Santa Barbara Courthouse Legacy Foundation are tax-deductible and can be made on the foundation’s website at sbclf.org/donate or mailed to SBCLF, P.O. Box 91459, Santa Barbara, CA 93190.
The courthouse grounds serve as a popular wedding venue, as well as a spot for peaceful rallies, performances during the annual Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish Days Fiesta, movie series in the summer and several other free community events.
“When we move past this pandemic,” Fairbanks said, “I think everyone agrees one of the things that we will all welcome is being able to celebrate at the courthouse again.”
Click here for more information about the Great Arch restoration project.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
