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I drew the Presidio Chapel because it is what most visitors enjoy the most. With all the events that it hosts, it is definitely one of the most dynamic parts of the Presidio Neighborhood.

Looking down Canon Perdido St., the Presidio sits among contemporary shops, restaurants and local businesses. This juxtaposition between historic buildings and modern commerce allows locals and visitors to enjoy the best of both worlds.

The presidio neighborhood through the ages.

Photo taken during one of Kathy's school group tours at the Presidio. Kathy's memory was captured after a meeting of SBTHP's Education Committee.

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…

Gathered in El Paseo, Fiesta performers would dress in traditional Spanish attire that also evoked the current Hollywood interpretation of California history.

With large gourds resting on their heads, these women travel around the mercado with flowers, vegetables, and fruit.

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.

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…

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…

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…

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…