Casa de la Guerra, Spanish Colonial adobe residence in Santa Barbara, United States

Casa de la Guerra is a two-story adobe structure on East De la Guerra Street featuring thick earthen walls, wooden balconies, and an interior courtyard. The building displays the typical layout of Spanish Colonial residences with open-air spaces for daily life.

José de la Guerra y Noriega, fifth commandant of the Presidio de Santa Barbara, lived in the house from 1828 until his death in 1858, and his descendants remained until 1943. The 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake damaged the building; his son Pablo then led renovations that removed the adobe columns, added wooden columns and wooden siding, giving the house a Victorian appearance.

Locals called the thirteen-room house "casa grande" because it dwarfed the surrounding one-room adobes. José de la Guerra added the altito, a now-gone structure that served as his office and where he stored his money. The house is being restored and furnished to appear as it might have between 1828 and 1858.

The property is maintained by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation and offers guided tours on weekends. Visitors can view the exterior daily even when guided tours are not scheduled.

José de la Guerra's thirteen-room house was called the casa grande by locals because it dwarfed the surrounding one-room adobes. He added a separate altito structure that served as his office and where he stored his money; it no longer stands.