Val Verde
Also known as: Ludington, Wright, House
Why it's listed
Val Verde is a Montecito estate built around a two-story Mediterranean Revival house completed in 1918 for New Yorker Henry Dater Jr. Architect Bertram Goodhue designed the house of hollow clay tile and ochre stucco, arranged around an open patio, with flat-roofed wings, a red tile hipped main block and sparing ornament such as pierced concrete grilles. Goodhue's simple forms reflected a new direction in his career. In the 1920s and later, owner Wright Ludington, an art patron, worked with landscape architect Lockwood de Forest to add cottages, garages and walls, and to remake the earlier gardens by Charles Gibbs Adams. De Forest introduced reflecting pools, colonnades, stepped walls and clipped boxwood hedges, blending Beaux Arts planning with modernist simplicity. The 8.87-acre historic core was recognized for the house as the best, least-altered Goodhue work in Montecito and for the gardens as a major example of de Forest's design evolution.
Significance in brief: The house is argued to be the best, least-altered Bertram Goodhue-designed building in Montecito, qualifying locally in Architecture. The gardens, redeveloped by Lockwood de Forest, are significant at the state level in Landscape Architecture as an example of his shift from Beaux Arts to modernist ideas. The estate also reflects Montecito's opulent era of wealthy winter residents.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 95000359, listed March 31, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 2549 Sycamore Canyon Rd., Santa Barbara |
|---|---|
| County | Santa Barbara County |
| Listed | March 31, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95000359 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1918, 1926-49 |
| Architect / builder | Goodhue, Bertram G.; de Forest III (Jr.), Lockwood |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th century revivals: Mediterranean Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The property is in good condition and remains in use as a single dwelling, with some alterations since the period of significance, such as window changes on the servants' wing and new awnings. |
| Acreage | 8.9 |
| Coordinates | 34.44008, -119.64950 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 95000359.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q65054434
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.