Santa Barbara is famous for its early 19th century adobe buildings and its and early 20th century Spanish Colonial Revival buildings, both of which celebrate the Hispanic heritage of the region. Few structures have survived from the period of Americanization in Santa Barbara during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

The Italianate brick and limestone St. Vincent Orphanage and School is one of these buildings and is perhaps the finest late 19th century structure in Santa Barbara.

When the building was listed on the National Register in 1982, there had been only two owners. The Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul were the original owners. The Knights of Columbus bought the building in 1925 and owned it until 1980.

During the years that St. Vincent's School occupied the property, there were several outbuildings, including a large privy, a cow corral, a drying yard, a playhouse, a laundry, a carriage barn and a hay barn.

Under the Daughters of Charity ownership, it became the first English-speaking school in the area.

Source: Adapted from the NRHP nomination submitted in 1982.