“Victorian architecture” refers to the age of a house, and not its style. In Santa Barbara, we have a range of home styles built during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). These styles include Queen Anne, Gothic Revival, Eastlake, and Second Empire, as well as Italianate.
The designs of some of these homes came from pattern books — books that contained sketches and plans that a builder could use to construct a home. Often, local lumber companies sold these pattern books in the hope that builders would buy their materials from those companies. Other homes were custom-designed by an architect.
The best-known architect of Victorian homes in Santa Barbara was Peter J. Barber. He designed the 1871 Upham Hotel at 1404 De la Vina Street in the Italianate style. There are about a dozen Italianate homes in Santa Barbara that are on the Structures of Merit list. They were built from 1870 to 1888. The completion of Stearns Wharf in 1872 made it easier to deliver lumber and other home-building materials to our area.
