George Washington Smith: Lobero Theater (Santa Barbara, Calif.)

The Lobero Theater on Canon Perdido and Anacapa Streets in downtown Santa Barbara, got its start in the 1870s as a vaudeville house. By the early 1920s, it had fallen into disrepair and Smith was asked to design and build a new theater in the Spanish Colonial style he was best known for. With it's white stucco walls and red tile roof, the theater was a pre-cursor to the architectural style that has dominated downtown Santa Barbara since the earthquake of 1925. Smith's associate, Lutah Maria Riggs, was one of the first women to receive her architectural license in the state of California, and she worked for Smith until his death in 1930. She was a skilled renderer, and many of Smiths' works were rendered by Riggs.

George Washington Smith, architect
Lutah Maria Riggs, renderer

George Washington Smith papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.

1923

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