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Santa Barbara
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.
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