State Street is the spine of downtown Santa Barbara, running 12 blocks from the railway station up to the foothills. The Spanish Colonial Revival code adopted after the 1925 earthquake gives the whole street its consistent character: white walls, red tiles, wrought-iron balconies, and paseos — interior courtyards punched between the buildings.
The lower end (Mason to Cabrillo) is most lively at night, with bars and restaurants. The middle stretch (Cabrillo to Anapamu) is shopping and the Museum of Art. Paseo Nuevo and La Arcada are the two best of the interior courtyards — small fountains, sculpture, hidden bars. Much of State Street is car-free as a permanent post-pandemic promenade.