Europeans were first seen here in 1542, when Portuguese explorer Juan Cabrillo entered the Channel and claimed the land for Spain. In 1602 three Spanish frigates under the command of Sebastian Vizcaino entered the Santa Barbara Channel and weathered a severe storm. Thankful to God for answering their prayers to protect the ships, a Carmelite friar on board named the bay and nearby shore after Saint Barbara, whose feast day it was.

In 1782, a group of Spanish soldiers led by Father Junípero Serra, Captain Jose Ortega, and Governor Felipe de Neve came overland from Mexico and established a royal presidio or fort on May 18. Three years later the Santa Barbara Mission was founded.

Spain governed the area until 1822, when California became a Mexican territory. In 1846, Colonel John Fremont and his soldiers claimed Santa Barbara for the United States, and Americanization gained momentum after California became a state in 1850.

Santa Barbara remained a sleepy pueblo until late in the nineteenth century, when wealthy easterners, reading newspaper descriptions of the wonderful climate, health-giving springs, and natural beauty, began coming here for extended vacations. Resort and cultural opportunities blossomed, drawing celebrity visitors from around the globe, including presidents, opera stars, kings, and queens.

Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort was built in 1986 with the goal of capturing the architectural details reflected in our Mission and Spanish colonial history.

Our resort was the site for two locomotive roundhouses constructed by the Southern Pacific Railroad. The first stood between 1911 and 1925, when the June 29, 1925, earthquake severely damaged it. Miss Pearl Chase of the Plans and Planting Committee, Community Arts Association, convinced the railroad to design the new building in the Spanish style for which Santa Barbara was becoming famous. The beautiful result resembled the bullring in Seville, Spain.

From 1926 to 1961 the roundhouse and engine turntable serviced the Southern Pacific’s steam locomotives; by 1961 the coast route had converted to diesel power. The structure was then remodeled for warehouse use and the turntable was removed. In September 1982, the roundhouse was demolished to make way for a resort.  The resort’s ground floor plaza symbolizes the historic roundhouse.