Collections
To advance the goals of SBTHP, the Presidio Research Center collects, organizes and preserves pertinent historic materials, acquires relevant scholarly publications, and sponsors programs of translation, research and publication. The Research Center collection includes a variety of materials in various formats:
Presidio Research Center reading room.
Photo by Michael H. Imwalle.
The Presidio Research Center participates in a consortium of small museums libraries that share an online catalog. Over 3,000 titles of books, pamphlets, and articles from our collection are searchable through the catalog using author, title, subject or keyword. Make sure to check the location code to see if the recourse is housed at the Presidio Research Center.
To find materials such as pamphlets, brochures, journal articles, government documents and other ephemera, please consult the linked fully searchable PDF index to the Vertical File.
The Presidio Research Center owns a number of historic manuscript collections documenting Santa Barbara and Spanish California history. Finding aids for many of the collections can be accessed through this link to the California Digital Library. We continue to add more finding aids as collections are processed.
The collection includes architectural plans of the reconstructed Presidio,
El Paseo, Casa de la Guerra, and other local adobes and maps of Santa Barbara City and County, including Sanborn Fire Insurance maps 1892-1958. The collection is fully searchable through the linked PDF spreadsheet.
Periodical Collection
Academic journals, magazines, and newsletters from historical societies, preservation organizations, and genealogical groups.
This membership publication of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation contains research articles, books reviews and coverage of SBTHPs work. Click here for a fully searchable PDF index.
Photograph Collection
Approximately 22 linear feet of images from SBTHP’s archive, as well as images received from various individuals. Subjects covered include: Casa de la Guerra, the Presidio reconstruction, archaeology, Santa Barbara architecture, missions, people associated with SBTHP, historic preservation, or the historic sites owned by SBTHP; Presidio neighborhood history; and various events. Most photos are available for research use, and some may be reproduced.
Over 140 interviews from Santa Barbara citizens associated with its history. Clips from some of the interviews in our collection can be heard here.
A selection of the Research Center collections are available on the internet through our SBTHP Collections Online website. You can browse the online collections by clicking the link above.