Friday, October 01, 2010

Before & After: Santa Ana 1933/2006

Here's 4th St. in Santa Ana, from the intersection of Main, looking northwest...
...just after the 1933 earthquake, and again (from the same angle) more recently.
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The building in the center, which lost its entire facade, was the Woolworths. Later, the store moved to a location that's barely visible on the left side of the image. The building on the right, with the fancy griffin motif under the window, is the Otis Building. It's had some major changes to it over the years, which is obvious when you look at early photos of Downtown Santa Ana.
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Don't forget that the Dana Point Historical Society's annual home tour is this weekend.

4 comments:

outsidetheberm said...

Nice work, Chris. Always enjoy then and now comparisons.

Next time we meet, remind me to show you some swell Yorba Linda images we just came across!

Connie Moreno said...

Man, I really dig your blog!

Chris Jepsen said...

Ken: I hope we can get together and talk (without all the chaos of the Knott's event) one of these days. I'd love to see those Yorba Linda photos. Heck, I'd love to see MOST of the wild stuff you've collected over the years. I can't promise not to leave drool stains on your

Connie: Thanks! It's fun to do. And thanks for being such a regular reader (and commenter)!

Mary Ellen Goddard said...



How will people be researching local history in the future? Many old reliable resources are no longer providing historical information -- for instance, old city directories which often included great biographical info for each entry no longer are published -- over the years, less and less has been included, and now most people are on cell phones and not in a book at all. And good old personal letters have given way to email and worse -- or nothing. Newspapers are disappearing -- or changing. So what will researchers do fifty years from now when they want to know what happened in our time? Speakers at the Orange County History Exposition, sponsored by the Costa Mesa Historical Society on May 22, 2016, will discuss this problem and offer some solutions. The event will be held at the Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Avenue, Costa Mesa, from 1:00 to 4:00pm. Please RSVP to 949-631-5918 or cmhistory@sbcglobal.net. Admission is free.