The downtown area runs the length of State Street. Chock-full of local landmarks, downtown offers plenty for history buffs: dozens of the City’s oldest adobe dwellings; the site of the original Presidio or fort, the picturesque El Paseo complex which includes the de la Guerra adobes, the Mission, the Courthouse, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and dozens of Victorian era homes built by Santa Barbara’s leading citizens during the late 19th-century. Also downtown, some of the finest restaurants, outdoor cafes, theatres, antique shops and cinemas. Excellent shopping is to be had at the many specialty stores along lower State. The beach is located just a short distance from downtown Santa Barbara. An electric shuttle runs between downtown and the focal point of the waterfront, which is Stearns Wharf. Shops and restaurants line the Wharf, including the Harbor Restaurant, originally opened by Ronald Coleman in 1941, and at one point purchased by another movie star, James Cagney. At the west end of the waterfront is the Harbor, the center of the City’s commercial fishing industry and a rendezvous point for the yachting crowd. Many hotels line Cabrillo, all boasting a superb Santa Barbara ocean view. Chase Palm Park, which runs the length of the waterfront, is the place to go for a stroll, to see the arts and crafts displays every Sunday, and to watch some of the world’s finest volleyball players on East Beach. The Cabrillo Arts Center, the Bird Refuge and the Santa Barbara Zoological Gardens, are all located in this vicinity.
