Casa del Herrero


Casa del Herrero is a home and gardens located in Montecito near Santa Barbara, California. It is an estate designed and constructed in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture, and is considered one of the finest examples of the style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and made a National Historic Landmark on January 16, 2009. Today the entire site is owned and operated as a historic house museum and garden by the non-profit Casa del Herrero Foundation, with the goal of restoring and preserving the house and grounds.

History

Casa del Herrero was designed for George Fox Steedman and his wife, who were moving west from St. Louis, by architect George Washington Smith. The residence was completed in 1925, and the Steedmans moved into it the same day as the Santa Barbara earthquake. Steedman - an industrialist, engineer, and amateur architect - assembled a team of architects, landscape architects, antiquarians, and horticulturists to produce the Casa del Herrero estate — an example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. Steedman participated in every detail of the property's buildings, furnishings, and gardens. In the 1930s, architect Lutah Maria Riggs designed the octagonal library addition.
Steedman died in 1940, and his widow continued to live there until her death in 1962. Their daughter Medora Bass then lived at the Casa until her death in 1987. The foundation that now operates the estate was created in 1993 by her son.

Tours

Docent-led tours of the Casa del Herrero house, gardens and workshop are available by reservation. The Casa del Herrero Foundation offers the tours on Wednesday and Saturday, at 10 am and 2 pm. The address is 1387 East Valley Road, Montecito, CA 93108.