Peter Josiah Barber was an American carpenter, architect, and prominent citizen of Santa Barbara, California. A native of Ohio, he was drawn to California during the Gold Rush in 1852 and settled in Santa Barbara in 1869, where he established himself as the city's foremost architect and served as postmaster and for two terms as mayor. His works include the Arlington Hotel, the second County Courthouse, and the original Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, as well as several private houses. As mayor, he was also responsible for public works projects, most prominently the tree-lined boulevard, now called Cabrillo Boulevard, at East Beach. Three of the buildings he designed are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Santa Barbara is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting Alaska, the city lies between the steeply rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Santa Barbara's climate is often described as Mediterranean, and the city has been dubbed "The American Riviera". According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the city's population was 88,665.