University of California, Santa Barbara - Campus

Campus

UCSB is located on cliffs directly above the Pacific Ocean. UCSB's campus is completely autonomous from local government and has not been annexed by the city of Santa Barbara and thus is not part of the city. While it appears closer to the recently formed city of Goleta, a parcel of the City of Santa Barbara that forms a strip of "city" through the ocean to the Santa Barbara airport, runs through the west entrance to the university campus. Although UCSB has a Santa Barbara mailing address, as do other unincorporated areas around the city, only this entry parcel is in the Santa Barbara city limits. Like all other UC and CSU campuses, it is self-governing and cannot be incorporated into either city. The campus is divided into four parts: Main (East) Campus 708 acres (287 ha) that houses all academic units plus the majority of undergraduate housing, Storke Campus, West Campus and North Campus. The campuses surround the community of Isla Vista.

UCSB is one of a few universities in the United States with its own beach. The campus, bordered on three sides by the Pacific Ocean, has miles of coastline as well as its own lagoon. The campus has numerous walking and bicycle paths across campus, around the lagoon and along the beach.

Much of the campus' early architecture was designed by famed architect William Pereira and his partner Charles Luckman, and made heavy use of custom tinted and patterned concrete block. This design element was carried over into many of the school's subsequent buildings.

The Lagoon is a large body of water adjacent to the coastline, between San Rafael and San Miguel Residence Halls. It was created from a former tidal salt marsh flat and is fed by a combination of run-off and ocean water used by the Marine Science Building's aquatic life tanks; thus, it is a unique combination of fresh and salt water. Many of the older campus buildings are being replaced with newer, more modern facilities. The UCSB Libraries, consisting of the Davidson Library and the Arts Library, hold more than 3 million bound volumes and millions of microforms, government documents, manuscripts, maps, satellite and aerial images, sound recordings, and other materials. The 24 Hour Study Room, formerly known as the RBR (Reserved Book Room), is adjacent to the Davidson Library, which is located in the middle of the UCSB campus.

Campbell Hall is the university's largest lecture hall with 862 seats. It is also the main venue for the UCSB Arts and Lectures series, which presents special performances, films, and lectures for the UCSB campus and Santa Barbara community.

Storke Tower, completed in 1969, is the tallest building in Santa Barbara County. It can be seen from most places on campus, and it overlooks Storke Plaza. It is home to a five-octave, 61-bell carillon. KCSB 91.9 and the Daily Nexus have headquarters beneath Storke Tower.

The UCSB Family Vacation Center founded in 1969, is a summer family camp located on campus that draws over 2,000 guests each summer. The staff of over 50 includes many UCSB students who have been extensively trained as camp counselors.