Rating:B (great history but it’s a brief walking tour;
hands off mostly!)
Ages:Use your discretion on how interested your child will be
Directions: 101, exit Garden, inland to Canon Perdido Street, then turn left to Santa Barbara Street.
Contact: 965-0093 or http://sbthp.org/presidio.htm
Season:Daily from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Guided tours of the site can be arranged at De La Guerra House, or Casa de la Guerra, at the State Street end of the park, adjacent to El Paseo and across the street from De La Guerra Plaza. Open 12-4 Thursdays through Sundays.

Founded in 1782, Santa Barbara Royal Presidio was the last in a chain of four military forts built by the Spanish along the coast of Alta California, then a wilderness frontier. Padre Junípero Serra, well known for his leadership in founding the California missions, blessed the site of the Santa Barbara Presidio four years prior to the establishment of the Mission of Santa Barbara in 1786. The Presidios played a vital role in the occupation of New Spain. They protected the missions and settlers against attack, provided a seat of government, and guarded the country against foreign invasion. Children like the dress-up days annually in late April, during the celebration of Santa Barbara’s birthday. The parties include a church service in the Presidio Chapel, reenactment of the 1782 founding of Santa Barbara, a tribute to Saint Barbara, cultural dancers, and, of course, a big birthday cake! Built of sun-dried adobe bricks laid upon a sandstone foundation, the fort was made up of a quadrangle with two cannon bastions. Center stage was Santa Barbara’s first church for its city dwellers. The Christian Chumash people worshipped at the Mission. At the State Street end of the Presidio, Casa De La Guerra was the family home for 12 children of the first commander of the Presidio. The home was also the social center of Santa Barbara for 27 years.