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.

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, 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.

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.

Sunday, March 11, 2012
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church Sanctuary

This is an iconic little church out in Montecito, California. It's image has popped up everywhere from album covers to advertising according to the nice people in the office. It is a wonderful example of south-western architecture. It seems like it would not be out of place in the middle of the desert, or southern Mexico somewhere.

Saturday, March 10, 2012
Spirit of the Ocean

A sunset view of the "Spirit of the Ocean" fountain at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. The fountain recently underwent a major restoration. The original sculpture (seen in this photo) now resides in the Courthouse basement. A new sculpture was lovingly carved from massive blocks of stone to match the weather worn original.

Friday, March 9, 2012
Courthouse Clocktower from the Garden Balcony

Another in a series of Santa Barbara Courthouse images I have been preparing for an upcoming project.

This is the view from the balcony above the Courthouse Sunken Gardens looking toward the Clocktower. The evening was early enough to still get all the beautiful details of the architecture, but late enough to see the beautiful landscape lighting.

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.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Bridge of Sighs

The Santa Barbara County Courthouse is one of the most beautiful buildings in California. This wing, unlike the others, is much more beautiful on the outside. The tower and the rest of the wing on the right of this photo were the former county jail. The bridge connecting the main part of the courthouse to the Jail wing is called the "Bridge of Sighs" after a bridge (Ponte dei Sospiri) in Venice, Italy. It was the bridge that was said to be the last view prisoners would have of beautiful Venice before they were led to their cells, and so they would sigh as they saw the last glimpse of the beautiful city. The Santa Barbara County Courthouse is a California Historical Landmark NO. 1037.

Thursday, January 12, 2012
Looking West from the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Clocktower

A beautiful view on a wonderful day. Looking out over Santa Barbara from the County Courthouse Clocktower.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Silvergreens Sunset

Our winter sunsets are absolutely amazing. Yesterday I was down town running some errands. I had plans to try to catch the sunset, but I knew it was going to be tight so I just brought my camera along for the ride. I was really glad I did. Fortunately there are an abundance of great perches in town to find new angles.