The Mural Room

Tucked inside the Santa Barbara Courthouse is the aptly named “Mural Room,” a lush chamber adorned with more than 4,100 square feet of canvas murals depicting the area’s early history.

Painted by native Californian and muralist Daniel Sayre Groesbeck, the Mural Room was originally designed as a meeting room for the county’s Board of Supervisors. The architect William Mooser told the Board of Directors he would design a “throne room” like that of a castle, which would have mural rooms where rulers received guests and conducted business. It took Groesbeck four months to paint all the murals in the room, and he received $9,000.

The murals depict scenes from the history of Santa Barbara. You’ll see events such as the 1786 founding of the Santa Barbara Mission, the 1602 expedition of Sebastián Vizcaíno, and the 1846 arrival of John C. Fremont, signifying the shift from Spanish to American rule.

Though Groesbeck painted the Mural Room’s four walls, Giovanni Battista Smeraldi of Palermo, Italy, painted its ceiling. Smeraldi used the Mudéjar style, which is a mixture of Spanish and Moorish ornamentation and decoration. He also designed and painted the ceiling’s beams, frieze, and corbels.

if you have time, visit the Courthouse Tower for a 360-degree view of Santa Barbara or take the Courthouse tour to see the other architectural features of the building.