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 work lives on.
The night brings rest.”

George Fox Steedman
Inscription on four sides of the sundial

Latest Good News

Glenna Hartman Pastel

Preserving Precious Spaces ~ Sunday, May 19, 2013
at Casa del Herrero

It is with great pleasure that we invite you to spend a lovely late afternoon with us at our biennial art event, “Preserving Precious Spaces 2013”.

Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 19, 2013 from 4 to 7 pm, when some of Santa Barbara’s best plein air painters and passionate art lovers assemble for a festive celebration in the magical Casa gardens, with passed hors d’oeuvres, wine, and approximately 150 happy, art-loving guests.

Call today for reservations or more information.
805-565-5653. Casa del Herrero is a 501(c)3organization.

Read all about it!

Our exceptional book Casa del Herrero, the Romance of Spanish Colonial by Robert Sweeney, photography by Matt Walla, is available in bookstores near you! Published by Rizzoli International, it is generously illustrated with historic pictures, drawings and contemporary photographs. Over four years in the making, the book has succeeded due to the good wishes and hard work of many in the Casa family.

Please click here for a book order form.

Click the Add to Cart button below to order online!

Santa Barbara's Newest National Historic Landmark...

Jan 16, 2009
Washington, D.C. - Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today announced the designation of nine new National Historic Landmarks in recognition of their importance in interpreting the heritage and history of the United States. The landmarks are located in Connecticut, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, California, Florida, Illinois, Colorado, Wisconsin and Arizona.
“The historical and cultural developments reflected by these new National Historic Landmarks is tremendous,” Kempthorne said.

Steedman Estate (Casa del Herrero), Montecito, CA, is considered one of the most fully developed and intact examples of America’s Country Place Era that took form and flourished on the West Coast in the early 20th century (See link to The Cultural Landscape Foundation on the About Us page). The estate features the landscape design of Ralph K. Stevens, Lockwood de Forest, Jr., and Francis T. Underhill and the architecture of George Washington Smith and other West Coast designers under the direction of the owner, George Steedman, who was a collector of antiquities and an amateur silversmith. The estate represents a remarkable fusion of landscape design, architecture, horticulture, and interior design, reflecting the influence of the antiquities, architecture, and gardens of Mediterranean Europe, particularly the region of Andalusia in southern Spain, and resonding to the splendid climate, ideal growing conditions, Hispanic roots, and scenic beauty of the Southern California landscape. The estate represents the synthesis of what would become a nationally recognized California Style of landscape design and an important stage in the evolution of Spanish Colonial Revival domestic design in the United States.

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