This building began life as the Santa Barbara Federal Post Office, built between 1914 and 1932, and now houses the Museum of Art you're visiting. The museum you see was founded in 1941 and opened its doors to the public on June 5, 1941. The idea for this cultural transformation began when local artist Colin Campbell Cooper learned the post office was going to be sold and, in a letter to the editor published in the Santa Barbara News-Press in July 1937, proposed turning the impressive Italianate structure into a museum.
With momentum and the support of local businesses, politicians, and art collectors, that proposal became reality just four years after Cooper’s letter. The renowned Chicago architect David Adler was hired to simplify the building’s façade and to create the Museum’s first galleries, including Ludington Court, Thayer Gallery, von Romberg Gallery, and Campbell. Inside, the permanent collection embraces Asian, American, and European art spanning 4,000 years from ancient to modern.
David Adler simplified the façade in front of you, and the galleries begin just beyond these doors.