Peak crowds during high season occur around graduation weekend for the University of California, Santa Barbara, which usually coincides with Father's Day. Large numbers of visitors also come during the Summer Solstice Celebration in June and for Old Spanish Days Fiesta the first week in August. ...
The Santa Barbara earthquake of June 29, 1925 caused considerable damage to the church. The rebuilding was going to be costly, but the community and the nation rose to the occasion, for the mission was not seen as just a Catholic church, but as an important historic symbol of California. ...