Picture José de la Guerra y Noriega here, fifth commandant of the Presidio de Santa Barbara and founder of the Guerra family of California. From 1828 until his death in 1858 José lived here in what locals called the casa grande — a thirteen-room structure that dwarfed the surrounding one-room adobes. José added an altito, an office where he stored his money; that altito no longer stands.
The house remained a family home: descendants of José lived here until 1943. The 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake did significant damage, and José’s son Pablo spearheaded renovations that reflected changing style in the Santa Barbara area, modifying the home to give it a Victorian appearance. The most significant changes in this time were the removal of the adobe columns in favor of wooden columns.
Today the site is owned and operated by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation as a historic house museum at 15 East De la Guerra Street. Picture the casa grande's rooms and the vanished altito inside this house at 15 East De la Guerra Street.