Located at the corner of Hot Springs and East Valley Roads in Montecito, this Catholic Church was donated by three Cudahy sisters, heirs to their family’s meat-packing business fortune. The building was constructed in 1936 and dedicated in 1938.
The entire structure reflects the architectural style developed by the missionaries, combining building patterns of the Pueblo Indians with Spanish colonial design. In 1963, a side chapel conforming in every artistic detail to the main church was added.
The hand-painted altar of the New Mexico church was well documented and faithfully reproduced in Santa Barbara. It is a wonderful The wooden doors are handmade; the stations of the cross are of hammered tin. Vigas (beams) span and support a ceiling in herringbone pattern created by savinos (eucalyptus branches).
In order to imitate the unskilled laborers who built the Santa Fe original, the windows tilt slightly and the sandstone floors are purposely uneven in the Santa Barbara replica. The interior of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is much brighter than other mission-style churches, due in part to the lighter paint and larger windows. Each Christmas, the church features a southwestern Nativity scene adorned with a Chieftain’s headdress and a drum. The church is true an architectural gem .
Visit Mt. Carmel's Website