Casa del Herrero house of the blacksmith

Casa del Herrero

Few of Montecito’s legendary estates remain essentially unchanged. The Casa del Herrero, designed by architect George Washington Smith and completed in 1925, is noted as one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in America, is included on the National Register of Historic Places, and in January 2009, was designated a National Historic Landmark by then Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne.

George Fox Steedman, an industrialist, engineer, and amateur architect, had a vision for the house and grounds that went beyond fashion, and he assembled an extraordinary team of architects, landscape architects, antiquarians, and horticulturists to produce the Casa del Herrero estate (House of the Blacksmith)—recognized today as a masterpiece of the Country Place era. His participation in every detail of the property’s buildings, furnishings, and gardens is the reason the estate makes a single artistic statement that is greater than the sum of its parts. Today the entire 11-acre site is owned and operated as a historic house museum and garden by the non-profit Casa del Herrero Foundation, with the goal of preserving the house and grounds, as well as the family’s collection of antiques, books, sketchbooks, drawings, and horticultural records.

Tours of the Casa del Herrero house, gardens and workshop are available by reservation.
Come and experience this gracious Montecito estate…

“Use well thy time.
Fast fly my hours.
Good works live on.
The night brings rest.”

George Fox Steedman
Inscription on four sides of the sundial

Latest Good News

Upcoming Events

Spring 2009 – National Historic Landmark celebration
Spring Raffle - Drawing June 11, 2009. Win an evening for 24 in the Casa del Herrero gardens, with hors d'œuvre and wine. Tickets are $25 each or 5 for $100.
Summer 2009 – Celebrate the Casa at our summer fundraising event, Preserving Precious Spaces, ll. Art sale, wine and hors d’oeuvre in the garden, Sunday August 16th. Please call for more info.
Fall 2009 - Casa del Herrero Book Launch Party. Saturday, October 17th. Please call for details.
For more information: casatour@silcom.com

Pump House Restoration COMPLETE!

Water is of course a necessity in any garden but to Moorish style gardens such as Casa del Herrero it is a central theme. As guests make their way through the garden they are accompanied by the sound of water running through the fountain systems, inviting them further into the garden.

Mr. Steedman most certainly understood the importance of water to his garden because he built a fantastic well and pump system to ensure a reliable supply of water for the Casa, and that system is still in operation today. It is very literally the heart of the garden, pumping approximately 90,000 gallons of water a week to the Casa grounds, flowing through our irrigation system and filling the fountains. As with so many aspects of the Casa the pump house is a combination of artistry, ingenuity and functionality.

We are very pleased to announce that we have successfully raised the funds for our Pump House Restoration The pump house was in desperate need of restoration, for which we received approximately $50,000 in contributions (see below). Work began in January 2009 and involved many expert contractors and craftsman, just as Steedman would have liked it.

Huge Thanks go to the following Foundations and individuals for funding this crucial project:

Taffy and JB Balch, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest A. Bryant, Jane Dyruff, Pharibe Wise Hannan, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Jackson, Lynn Morris Contracting, Mr and Mrs. Chapin Nolen, The Outhwaite Foundation, The Towbes Foundation and The Wallis Foundation.

We have also received a $25,000 grant from The Anne Jackson Foundation for general operating support.

The Casa Book Casa del Herrero, the book (published by Rizzoli), will be available in Fall 2009. Bob Sweeney, Matt Walla, Marc Appleton, Pat Gebhard and Molly Barker are currently putting the finishing touches to the copy and photos.

The Garden Club of America awarded the Garden History and Design Zone Historic Preservation Award to Casa del Herrero long time supporters Joan Jackson, Cynthia Nolen, June Kistler, Barbie Henzell and Carol Doane on April 22, 2008. They were acknowledged "For their extraordinary leadership in fulfilling the mission of The Garden Club of America by helping to preserve the historic Casa del Herrero."
We thank them all for their leadership and congratulate them for their award and recognition!!

The Spanish Garden wall conservation is now complete with repairs to the plaster and a new coat of paint.

We have a new addition to the Casa garden. Look for an owl house among the oak trees just past the greenhouse.

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