Browse Items (21 total)
- Collection: Fiesta! A Santa Barbara Tradition: Images from the Pearl Chase Collection, 1924 - 1930
Sort by:
Costumed Fiesta participants at Old Mission Santa Barbara
A tradition kept to this day, icons of the city were used as hubs of social activities for Fiesta. Here, participants gather at the Santa Barbara Mission in preparation for Fiesta activities.
Costumed man at Old Mission Santa Barbara
A Fiesta participant in costume at Old Mission Santa Barbara.
Dwight Murphy and his Palominos
Palomino horses, now a main feature in the Old Spanish Days Fiesta parade, are not native to Santa Barbara, but are the result of tireless work by Fiesta's first El Presidente, Dwight Murphy (above left). Golden Palomino horses, once known as…
Fiesta Mercado
One of many traditions that have carried on from the original Fiesta, the mercado is still a local favorite. The original mercado featured vendors selling luscious fruit and vegetables.
Fiesta participants in “The Street in Spain”
Bernard and Irene Hoffman, the benefactors who hired James Osborne Craig to design El Paseo, hoped that the Street of Spain plan would be just "the beginning of a wonderful evolution which will take in all of the old Spanish town." Here, Fiesta…
Fiesta performers at the Santa Barbara Courthouse
Just as today, several downtown locations acted as hubs of Fiesta activities. From Casa de la Guerra to the Santa Barbara Courthouse, residents and visitors alike donned Spanish costumes of the finest fabrics.
Fiesta performers in El Paseo
El Paseo was not only central to Fiesta, but to Santa Barbara's Spanish style as a whole. El Paseo opened in 1923 and, along with Casa de la Guerra, became the inspiration for reconstruction after the 1925 earthquake devastated the Santa Barbara…
Man riding a donkey
Man wearing sombrero and serape riding a donkey
Mariachi players
A June 17, 1919 edition of the Daily News proclaimed that "Spanish colors, hospitality, and traditions will predominate at Santa Barbara's summer fiesta.” Here, one of many traveling mariachi bands fill the downtown area with joyous music and…
Music and dancing in El Paseo
El Paseo, built in the early 1920's around Casa de la Guerra, was the heart of Old Spanish Days Fiesta with a mercado, performances, and public gatherings. Here, one lovely lady performs a romantic Spanish dance surrounded by a six-piece…
Palomino
The palomino horse was coined as "the living symbol of Old Spanish Days fiesta" in an August 3, 1941 News-Press article. These fair-maned horses were garbed in silver and paraded down State Street in the earliest Fiestas, and visitors still enjoy…
Performers at Casa de la Guerra
At Casa de la Guerra, two costumed dancers are surrounded by musicians