Since the 1925 earthquake, concern for preservation and reconstruction has become part of the Santa Barbara ethic. The only original part of the Presidio remaining, known as El Cuartel, was threatened by construction of the post office, but was saved by preservationminded citizens. The "Historic Adobe," which has been moved, now resides safely on the grounds of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum where it is leased by the Rancheros Visitadores. It is adjacent to the original Covarrubias Adobe, constructed in 1817 on the site.

Other adobe buildings were also purchased and saved by those who saw Santa Barbara's elegant past beginning to be supplanted by gasoline stations and shops.

Bernhard and Irene Hoffmann, who were early 1920s promoters of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, bought the Lugo Adobe, which became the headquarters for the group led by Pearl Chase to influence design control and help save landmark buildings. The Hoffmanns also purchased Casa de la Guerra, which is now restored and open to the public. Their architect, James Osborne Craig, designed El Paseo on State Street, an outdoor shopping complex adjacent to the adobe in the Spanish Colonial style, which became the model for Southern California's outdoor shopping malls.

Economic conditions in the 1970s nurtured the preservation of vintage Victorian structures and homes built in the late 1800s throughout Santa Barbara for middle-class families. Many of these structures were reborn 100 years later as charming bed-and-breakfast inns.

However, the emphasis on preservation of Santa Barbara's past has not meant that progress and development have come to a halt. Paseo Nuevo, a downtown shopping center that opened on State Street in 1990, Fess Parker's DoubleTree Resort, completed on the waterfront, and the adjacent Chase Palm Park, finished in 1998, are examples of how the Spanish theme will be carried into the 21st century.

Today, over seven million visitors from around the world enjoy the quiet charm of Santa Barbara every year and learn the true meaning of the inscription over a portal of the County Courthouse: "God gave us the country, and the skill of man hath built the town." And turned it into this paradise we call Santa Barbara.

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