Santa Barbara Historical Museum

The Santa Barbara Historical Museum is one of the cultural gems of our city, a collection of more than 80,000 irreplaceable objects and artifacts of significance relating to Santa Barbara’s extraordinary past. There is no better resource for discovery of local history than this beautiful museum.

Constructed in 1965 by the Santa Barbara Historical Society, the Museum has been the primary repository of Santa Barbara’s collective cultural heritage and ethnic diversity for over three decades. A tour of the Museum enables visitors to see a wide array of unique paintings, objects, photographs, furnishings and textiles dating from the 15th century. Santa Barbara’s rich past is represented with artifacts from Chumash, Spanish, Mexican, “Yankee” and Chinese cultures.

Santa Barbara locals get to experience three to four special exhibitions a year in the rotating Sala gallery.