On June 29, 1925 at 6:42 am a major earthquake hit the area of Santa Barbara. It was 19 seconds in duration and registered 6.8 on the Richter magnitude scale. The downtown of Santa Barbara was destroyed, the Sheffield Dam collapsed, and thirteen people died. The facade of the Mission Santa Barbara was severely damaged and lost its statues. Three persons thought to shut off the town electricity and gas, thereby preventing catastrophic fire. The city was rebuilt in a unified Spanish Colonial Revival style in 1925-1929.
A similar photograph appears with the article, "Quake Known Dead Reach Seventeen, New Santa Barbara Shocks Send Residents Into Open, City Bravely Faces Future as $15,000,000 Damage is Surveyed; Scores of Buildings Fall or Are Partly Demolished by Quake," with caption: Arlington Hotel, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jun. 1925.
View of the Arlington Hotel on the Victoria St. side, with 5-story section at left, 3-story section at right, and collapsed section at center, with garden, walkway and 2 parked automobiles in foreground, and 7 men standing on and near walkway looking on. Additional onlookers are in the area above the walkway. The hotel was located on the city block bounded by Victoria, State, Sola and Chapala Streets.
