5 BEST Things at Santa Barbara Historical Museum

If you ever visit Santa Barbara, I'd highly recommend including the Santa Barbara Historical Museum on your itinerary.

It's the perfect starting point to understanding the architecture, and Spanish and Mexican occupations of this city. With this knowledge in hand, you'll gain a much deeper appreciation for the city. It's also conveniently located just two blocks from downtown's State Street.

My favorite exhibit was the room dedicated to the 1925 earthquake in Santa Barbara. The scale of the devastation was huge, destroying 400 buildings. The exhibit has before and after photos, and explains how the Spanish Colonial style of architecture came about after the earthquake.

The museum also has an informative exhibit on the Story of Santa Barbara, with incredible artifacts from earlier eras like the Spanish and Mexican rule.

Another highlight is the pretty courtyard with a fountain, super popular for weddings. It's then just a short walk to a four room adobe known as Casa Covarrubias (1817), open for tours.

Check the Santa Barbara Historical Museum admission & tickets.

5 best things to do at Santa Barbara Historical Museum

1. Visit the gift shop.

Usually I visit the gift shop at the very end of any museum visit, but this time I decided to start here. I was drawn in by the high quality selection of merchandise, including posters, books and cards.

2. Check out the Santa Barbara Earthquake (1925) exhibition.

I was really impressed by the exhibition on the 1925 earthquake, especially the before and after photos projected on the walls. The 6.3 earthquake hit Santa Barbara at 6:42am on June 29, 1925. This devastating earthquake lasted 19 seconds, but damaged 400 buildings. Some of the most prominent buildings were impacted, including the magnificent Arlington Hotel and Santa Barbara Mission. I was also fascinated to learn that the Spanish style buildings fared better in the earthquake, so the city decided everything would be re-built in this style.

3. Learn the 'Story of Santa Barbara'.

I also enjoyed another exhibition at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum on the Story of Santa Barbara. I learned all about the Spanish rule (1782 to 1820) and Mexican rule (1821 to 1846), and influence of the Chumash tribes.

This beautiful statue of Saint Barbara immediately caught my eye. She was a 3rd century martyr who became the city's namesake.

It was fun to see the Santa Barbara Mission (1786) captured in a small model. The Spanish were very busy, building a total of 21 missions in the territory today known as California.

Kids will thrill to the Haunted Mirror, where eerie ghosts tell tales about their former lives in Santa Barbara.

I was really intrigued by this striking Chinese shrine, and discovered it had been imported to Santa Barbara in 1898. There were Chinese freemasons living in Santa Barbara, who used the shrine as a symbol for their desire to overthrow China's last dynasty.

4. Explore the courtyard.

On a hot summer's day, it was lovely to step outside to the charming courtyard at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. My favorite feature was the fountain in the middle in the courtyard, that transported me back to the Spanish California era. I heard there were a lot of weddings in this gorgeous space.

5. Tour Casa Covarrubias.

It's a real treat to step inside an authentic adobe. Fortunately I stumbled across the Casa Covarrubias (1817) just near the courtyard of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. It's open for tours and is a California Historic State Landmark.

I learned a little about the history of the L-shaped Casa Covarrubias (1817). It's owner was Domingo Carrillo, a Commander at the Santa Barbara Presidio in the 1930s. There's plenty to see in a self guided tour of the four rooms.