George Washington Smith (1876-1930): Renderings and elevations

George Washington Smith began his career as an artist, then a move to Montecito from Paris in 1916 gave him the chance to build his own house. The Andalusian style was instantly popular, and he began a new career as an architect, designing predominantly Spanish Colonial homes and commercial properties in the Santa Barbara area. Along with his associate, Lutah Maria Riggs, they designed many of the most recognizable Spanish Colonial Revival residences in Santa Barbara.

Born in Pennsylvania on February 22, 1876, George Washington Smith began his education with the study of art and painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of fine arts, and later attended Harvard University (1895-1987) where he studied architecture, but never graduated. After leaving Harvard, Smith took a position supervising construction with Newman, Woodman and Harris, but, unhappy with the work, left to join the Francis R. Welsh bond company, where he made enough money to retire to a life of painting by 1912. After marrying, he travelled through Europe, eventually settling in Paris where he studied painting at the Académie Julian of the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Smith and his wife left Europe in 1914 at the outbreak of World War I, and settled in New York, where he continued to paint and exhibit his work. In 1915, Smith and his wife traveled to California to see one of his paintings exhibited at the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. While in California, the two decided to take a trip to Santa Barbara.
After seeing Santa Barbara, Smith and his wife made the decision to settle temporarily there to wait out the war, until they could return to Europe. They rented a house in Montecito while Smith built a house for them, later known as the Heberton house, designed to resemble the Spanish farmhouses he had seen in Europe. This house brought George Washington Smith national attention when it appeared in the 1920 issue of Architectural Forum. As his neighbors asked him to build similar houses for them, Smith developed an architectural practice, with the help of Lutah Maria Riggs who joined his office in 1921. Smith became very well known nationally for his Spanish Colonial Revival style. He continued to practice architecture in Santa Barbara until his death in 1930.

George Washington Smith, architect
Lutah Maria Riggs, architect and renderer

George Washington Smith papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.

circa 1916-1930

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