John Palminteri
MONTECITO, Calif. (KEYT) – A check for $750,000 written last September for a major historic restoration project in Montecito was able to clear looming government funding concerns recently and get right to work at Casa Del Herrero. It was combined with a local matching fundraising drive to total $1.5 million.
Because of the timely action, crews are on site now working on multiple projects.
The property in Montecito, a National Historic Landmark, received federal funding through a Save America’s Treasures grant. Funds came through the National Park Service at the U.S. Interior Department. It will be administered through the California Missions Foundation, which serves to preserve 21 Missions and related historical sites.
Funds were under the Capital Campaign “Preserving Our Past, Protecting Our Future”.
The location is the 11-acre private estate where industrialist George Fox Steedman lived on East Valley Road. The home was designed by leading Spanish revival architect George Washington Smith in 1925. Additional work was done in many areas by Lutah Maria Riggs who was a pioneering American architect, and considered Santa Barbara’s first female licensed architect for decades.
Age and weather have been causing deterioration in many areas. There’s also been water intrusion from the heavy rains in recent years. Casa’s historic Glass House, Lath House, and Tool Shed are also on the list for repairs.
While walking down one of the new trails, Case del Herrero Executive Director and Head of Curation Natalie Sanderson said, “Casa del Herrero is an amazing treasure trove of antiquities and Spanish Colonial Revival architecture.”
The California Missions Foundation Executive Director David Bolton says with this work the local “treasure will be preserved and conserved for future generations.”
He said work to get the funding in place came down to the wire right before the recent government shut down. “Our representative actually showed up to work the next day, even though the government was shut down. She came in, processed everything, and we got the green light. The next day the government was shut down, but they said, go ahead and move forward with the project,” said Bolton.
The work was already done to get the grant and start the project and that put it at the top of the list. Sanderson said, “the first, materials and methods report that we submitted to National Park Services was 612 pages long.” It also reviewed the history of the location “and making sure that there’s no negative effect on a site that potentially could have been or is very sacred to the native community.”
Among the projects will be a repair of the faded, cracked and broken tiles around ten fountains – some tiles date back to the 17th and 18th century. One piece goes back to the 13th century.
New paths and historic water lines are now all being aligned to open the area up for public visits and learning.
Fountain tiles are old and worn out in many places. They need a special touch, and cleaning products, applied by hand. Susie Anders with Anders Art Conservation was on her knees working through some of the surface damage on one fountain at the far end of the property. Anders said, “we’re accepting a level of damage and, you know, some they’re supposed to look old. We’re not trying to make them look fancy and new and shiny. We are trying to make them look the best as they can be for their age.”
Some science and chemistry is also involved in the way products are used on the aging surfaces. “Conservation is usually thought of as a triangle of art history, fine art and science. It helps to understand what you’re trying to remove. And the substrate that you’re dealing with. Obviously the first goal is not to cause any damage, but also wanting to effectively remove the mineral deposits and grime that have accumulated, over time,” said Anders.
Looking over the fountain with seating areas on either side, Sanderson said, “it’s a really special place to bring community together. We’re really thrilled, as this space was inaccessible because it had an overgrown historic path which we are restoring.”
In addition to the restoration of what is on site, there will be some enhancements. Juan Lopez with Santa Barbara Quality Masonry said, “we will have natural stone boulder walls, pretty much the same that we have on top. And also we will have a plantings around. So basically is going to be something super nice for the people.”
The grounds also have many other community benefits outside of these repairs. Citrus trees are harvested in part for local programs including for the Food Bank of Santa Barbara County.
The home has a preserved dining area that is set up as it would have been in the 20s and 30s for dinner. There is also a large workshop where Steedman did many of his metal designs alongside of his wife Carrie Howard Steedman who was an award-winning floral designer. The Steedmans came to Montecito from St. Louis and moved into the property at the time of the damaging June 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake. The home was not damaged.
Bolton says, “The arches, the style of the building, the tile work, the fountains, the water moving water through in order to survive, all of that led to the Spanish colonial architecture and there is a not a finer example here than Casa del Herrero.”
Not only is this property an example of art and architectural history, it will also be used for students in the future for their classroom curriculums.
Sanderson says, “it’s great to see the casa as a living space, a site of research. And we love welcoming students here. ”
Some UC Santa Barbara students have already been on site for research.
“We’ve had a community day, which we’ll do again. We’ve welcomed the Girls Inc group here and had a special tile making activity where they did a tour,” said Sanderson. “They looked at the tiles and then they created their own. And we really would love to do more of these educational, types of opportunities.”
She described the site as an interdisciplinary living museum. “The founder of this museum, George Fox Steedman himself, and was quite a Renaissance man. He was an engineer, a scientist as well as an artist, and his wife also very talented. And there’s so many different disciplines and interests that intersect here at Casa del Herrera.”
The California Missions Foundation also includes education as a top priority. “School programs, visitors, tourists, community members all look at Casa del Herrero, always a big part of their community, and they will all be the ones that benefit from this great Save America Treasures federal grant,” said Bolton.
The $750,000 is the largest grant received for Casa del Herrero.
Sanderson said, “We want people to come here, and feel that it’s a place of, that they can relax. It’s a space of inspiration and a space of beauty, “
The California Missions Foundation said the grant indicates the importance of the property and restoration.
Regionally these grants in recent years have also helped to restore Mission Santa Barbara and Mission Santa Ines.
The project will be a three-tiered collaboration of national, state and local funding and community support.
Bolton said the grants have totaled $25.7 million in 2024 went to 59 projects in 26 states and the District of Columbia. The funding for Casa del Herrero was the only preservation grant awarded in California.
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