点评:Easily one of the prettiest buildings in California, and it’s free to walk in. It looks more like a Spanish palace than a government building, with white walls, red tile roofs, arched doorways, carved wooden doors, and a big tower that you can see from blocks away.
The inside is just as good, with painted ceilings, hand-painted tiles, wrought iron, and a grand staircase. A lot of the tile and decorative work was brought in from Spain and Tunisia.
The courthouse was finished in 1929, a few years after the 1925 earthquake destroyed the old one, and it became the centerpiece of Santa Barbara’s big rebuild in the Spanish Colonial Revival style…
btw It’s still a working courthouse, but it was named a National Historic Landmark in 2005. You can take the elevator up the clock tower for the best free view in town, and the Mural Room on the second floor is a must-see. We went there early morning and no one was there.
Free tours are offered most days, and the Sunken Gardens next to the building are a great place to sit and relax.
I would say plan on 45 minutes to an hour for everything.
Parking is easy in the city lots a block or so away, and the first 75 minutes are usually free (yes! And we were done within 75 mins), which is plenty for a quick visit.
Note: Parking lot #7 is just across the street
翻译:这绝对是加利福尼亚州最漂亮的建筑之一,而且可以免费入内参观。它看上去更像是一座西班牙宫殿而非政府大楼:白色的墙壁、红色的瓦片屋顶、拱形门廊、雕刻精美的木门,还有一座在数个街区外都能看到的巨大塔楼。
内部同样令人赞叹不已:彩绘天花板、手工绘制的瓷砖、锻铁装饰以及宏伟的楼梯。许多瓷砖和装饰品都是从西班牙和突尼斯运来的。
这座法院大楼于1929年竣工。在1925年的地震摧毁了旧法院大楼几年后,这里便被重建为圣巴巴拉以西班牙殖民复兴风格进行大规模重建的核心建筑……
顺便提一下,这座大楼目前仍作为法院使用,不过在2005年时被列为国家历史地标。你可以乘电梯登上钟楼,那里能欣赏到全城最棒的免费景观;二楼的壁画厅也绝对值得一看。我们一大早就去了那里,当时一个人也没有。
大多数日子都提供免费导览服务。大楼旁边的沉园是个坐下来放松身心的好地方。
我建议为整个行程预留45分钟到1小时的时间。
市区的停车场距离这里仅一个街区左右,停车很方便;前75分钟通常免费(没错!我们刚好在75分钟内就完成了所有活动),这对于短暂游览来说完全足够了。
注意:7号停车场就在街对面。