The Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (SBTHP) has reopened El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park, 123 E. Canon Perdido St. Closed since March 2020, the park is open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults and free for SBTHP Advocates (members), and children under age 16.

For more information, call 805-963-0095 or visit sbthp.org/calendar.

Founded in 1963 by Pearl Chase, SBTHP stewards the past and present of the Presidio Neighborhood and inspires preservation advocacy countywide. SBTHP operates El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park (El Presidio SHP), Santa Barbara’s 18th century birthplace, under an agreement with California State Parks.

In addition to portions of the Spanish fort, El Presidio SHP includes the Alhecama Theatre (1925) and the campus of the Santa Barbara School of the Arts, and Jimmy’s Oriental Gardens (1947), the last visible connection to Santa Barbara’s Chinatown.

The organization also operates Casa de la Guerra, the 1820s adobe home of Presidio Comandante Jos de la Guerra, and the Santa Ines Mission Mills near Solvang. SBTHP produces dozens
of community and school programs throughout the year to provide access to these historic places.

SBTHP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization; learn more at www.sbthp.org.