{"nrhp_refnum":"73000455","name":"Santa Barbara Presidio","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Carrillo, Garden, De la Guerra and Anacapa Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Santa Barbara","county":"Santa Barbara County","state":"CA","lat":34.42261306600005,"lon":-119.69806748999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-11-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Historic - Aboriginal","Military","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A district of about 5.4 acres in downtown Santa Barbara, California, covering the site of the Royal Presidio of Santa Barbara, a Spanish military fort founded in 1782. It occupies four city blocks bounded by Carrillo, Garden, De la Guerra and Anacapa Streets.","why_significant":"It was the fourth and last presidio founded during the Spanish colonization of Alta California, and it remained in use until 1850, longer than the other three. Its design and construction are unusually well documented, which supports accurate reconstruction. The site also remained the historical center of the city of Santa Barbara and has ongoing archaeological value.","narrative":"Four blocks of downtown Santa Barbara mark the site of the Royal Presidio, a Spanish fort founded in 1782 as the fourth and last presidio of Alta California. Captain Felipe de Goycoechea began a permanent adobe quadrangle in 1788, with barracks, family quarters, officers' houses and a chapel around a central plaza, enclosed by defense walls and bastions. Most of it was complete by 1790, and the chapel was enlarged in 1797 after a fire. The presidio guarded a military district of about 7,000 square miles and remained in use until 1850. Two original buildings survive in restored form: El Cuartel, a soldiers' family quarter, and the Caneda Adobe, a former officer's quarters. Excavations have uncovered chapel foundations and both defense walls. The detailed original plans allow accurate reconstruction, and the area remains the historical center of the city. It is listed as a district.","period_of_significance":"18th and 19th centuries; specific dates 1788 and 1850","architect_builder":"Captain Felipe de Goycoechea (plan of 1788); Captain Francisco Ortega (initial temporary barracks and palisade)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Mixed use: some original buildings (El Cuartel, Caneda Adobe) are restored, and excavation of foundations is ongoing. Other lots hold parking lots, commercial buildings, residences, a post office and college classrooms.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.726493-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/73000455.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000455/973509537e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000455/973509537e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Ymblanter","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Presidio_Chapel.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ymblanter</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Presidio_Chapel.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861617","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidio_of_Santa_Barbara","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3402430"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/santa-barbara-county/santa-barbara-presidio-73000455/"}