Thursday, September 17, 2015
Courthouse Tower

A beautiful angle on an amazing local architectural wonder.

Saturday, September 5, 2015
Clocktower Twilight

An amazing view of Santa Barbara just after sunset from the top of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.

Monday, August 17, 2015
Santa Barbara Courthouse Mountain Sunset

A beautiful evening at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. It's hard to match the beauty of the Santa Barbara Courthouse, but then again, from the right view on an evening like this it just fits right into its amazing surroundings.

Sunday, July 26, 2015
Clocktower Reopens

The beautiful view from the Santa Barbra County Courthouse Clock Tower officially reopened Friday after many months of work. Now the view is easily accessible by all with the elevator opening right out on the observation deck. The only drawback is, newcomers might not notice the beautiful clock gallery below that you had to walk past to get to that last flight of steps to the tower. The elevator still stops at the Clock Gallery though, so you can still enjoy every part of this local treasure!

Sunday, May 31, 2015
Twilight Over Santa Barbara

Evening view from the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Clock Tower where construction continues to make the tower more accessible. In the very near future everyone will be able to easily enjoy the view from the top. In the mean time, however, the trek to the top for this shot was even more of a walk than normal. With no elevator at all you start to appreciate really how tall the clock tower is. Currently the tower is still closed to the public, but the major elevator work is nearing an end with the opening at the top already complete.

Sunday, December 14, 2014
End of the Rainbow

Friday after the storm, the late afternoon sun on the mountains was spectacular and the air was clear and beautiful from the rain. As the sun slipped below the remaining clouds there were several light rainbows appearing and disappearing moment by moment as the shafts of light played among the remaining clouds. It was an amazing afternoon to just enjoy our beautiful city at the end of the rainbow.

Sunday, October 12, 2014
Clock Tower View

I'm often surprised at how many locals have never been to the observation deck at the Santa Barbara Courthouse Clocktower. It's a wondeful experience, even for those of us who may be used to looking at the beauty of Santa Barbara all the time. A wonderful experience that is, if you can easily navigate the tight metal stairways winding up the last story from the top of the elevator.

But that is all about to change. Thanks to the caretakers of the courthouse a new project is underway to extend the elevator the last story all the way to the observation deck. But unlike some of the accessibility stories you hear where someone sued or complained to get action, the story behind the project is very positive. The courthouse has had ADA accessibility plans in the works for some time, but this particular project was accellerated by the people who forged ahead, rather than let it stop them. Even though the climb to the top was tough there are many who make the trek apparently even in the face of extreme difficulty. Inspired by the people who felt the experience was worth the effort, the Courthouse Docents urged the powers that be to fast track the project. Led by a guy who's love of the history and heritage in his care is quite apprent when you talk to him, the County Arcitect Robert Ooley, the project got the green light this week.

Of course, extending the elevator another floor is no easy task. Starting January the Clock Gallery and the observation deck will be closed to the public to allow for construction, which is slated to run through July 2015. So if you've never been to the top because you've just never got around to it, now is a great time to go before construction starts! Of course if you've stayed away because of the climb, your wait is almost over. Either way, during the construction I'll do my best to bring the wonderful views right to you.

You can find out more about this project and others in the works at http://www.santabarbaracourthouse.org/

Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Courthouse Clocktower Looking Up

Looking up at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Clocktower

Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Santa Barbara County Courthouse Anacapa Panorama

A wide view of the Santa Barabara County Courthouse from Anacapa Street near Anapamu Street.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Courthouse Sunken Garden Clouds

The sunken gardens at the Santa Barbara County Court House is the location of many community events and festivals. There are few places more recognizable as a local Santa Barbara landmark.

Thursday, November 29, 2012
Clocktower Compass View

Another angle on the view from the Courthouse Cocktower

Sunday, November 11, 2012
Clocktower View Center stereographic corner vertical 02

A view from the center of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Clocktower.

Friday, November 2, 2012
Santa Barbara Courthouse Clocktower

One of the best places in Santa Barbara to sepnd the day is the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. One of the most amazing architectural experiences around, and it costs absolutely nothing to enjoy the beauty and the view from the top. (Unless of course you have a photo shoot there and you have to pay for a permit, but this day was purely for the enjoyment.)

Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Courthouse Clockwork Closeup

This is a close-up of the gears at the top of the clockwork inside the Courthouse Clocktower. I find the gear box on the top as well as the cool looking universal joints on the four sides that allow the shafts to have a slight angle in them. I'm sure glad they were inspired to display the clockworks when they refurbished the clock.

Friday, October 12, 2012
View from the Top of Santa Barbara

A beautiful view over Santa Barbara. This is one of the most amazing spots in Santa Barbara. The top of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Clocktower. From here you can see from one end of the city to the other, The Mission to the Ocean. This particular angleis overlooking the sunken gardens of the courtyard with the Pacific Ocean on the right.

Monday, October 8, 2012
Santa Barbara, City in the Hills

One of the most amazing views around is, of course, from the Courthouse clocktower. I love the perspective it gives you on the city, like a map laid out in front of you that not even Google can compete with. This is the view over Anapamy Street looking north. On the left you can just make out the towers of the Mission Santa Barbara.

Sunday, October 7, 2012
Santa Barbara

The classic view from the courthouse clocktower. I have been thinking about visiting the courthouse for a few months now. Yesterday the clouds were so beautiful I had to drop everything and go!

Friday, October 5, 2012
Courthouse Clockwork

Thanks to some dedicated volunteers, the Courthouse clocktower has a new attraction. As if the view from the top wasn't enough. Refurbishing the mechinsim of the clock was something that was overdue. But the dedicated caretakers of this local gem went above and beyond. Rather than just fix the clock and close it back up, they realized the intricate workings of this amazing device was something most visitors would love to see. With the backdrop of an amazing mural the wokrings of the clock are as beautiful and interesting as the exterior architecture that encloses it. I particularly like the gear at the top that distributes the movement of the clock to the four faces on the sides of the tower.

Thursday, October 4, 2012
Towering over Santa Barbara

A little bit different angle on the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Clocktower.

Sunday, April 29, 2012
Courthouse Clocktower Morning Colors

A beautiful view of an absolutely amazing example of local architecture, the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.

Thursday, March 29, 2012
Courthouse Clocktower Morning Colors

A beautiful view of an absolutely amazing example of local architecture, the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.

This is an older shot from a permit shoot of the Courthouse. There seems to be a lot of demand for Courthouse images lately, (not hard to see why,) so I have been trying to find some interesting unpublished images to add some variety.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Sunken Gardens Twilight

A wonderful spot any time of day, the Courthouse Sunken Gardens take on a magical quality at night. The lighting makes for wonderful photo opportunities that would not otherwise be possible. I like to experiment with architectural photography later in the evening than might seem to work. As long as there is still blue in the sky to complement the buildings it's a good time for photos.

Controls from left to right:
+ Zoom in;
- Zoom out;
change the way the view moves when you drag;
toggle full screen

Thursday, March 8, 2012
Santa Barbara County Courthouse Anacapa Archway

One of the most famous views in Santa Barbara, the County Courthouse from the Anacapa side offers veiws of the beautiful archway and clock tower. The tower is the location of many weddings and is just an amazing place to see a panoramic view of the city.

Sunday, January 29, 2012
Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Gardens, Virtual Reality

The sunken gardens at the Santa Barbara County Court House is the location of many community events and festivals. There are few places more recognizable as a local Santa Barbara landmark.

Controls from left to right:
+ Zoom in;
- Zoom out;
change the way the view moves when you drag;
toggle full screen