SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Old Mission Santa Barbara is a world class distination.
"Throughout the world we are known as the Queen of the missions because of the setting ... the rather grand architecture ... and the beautiful views ... with the mountains in the distance," said Father Joseph Schwab of the Old Mission Santa Barbara.
But on the morning of June 29th 1925, a massive earthquake struck Santa Barbara.
“The Santa Barbara mission was having a mass when the earthquake struck … there was 20 parishioners inside … the front of the mission collapsed … towers fell," said historian Neal Graffy.
Downtown Santa Barbara was hit hard.
“The building strictly across the street at State and Anapamu … the 1914 San Marcos building … and then on June 29, 1925 the two halves of the building at this corner … ground against each other and collapsed … killing two people inside," said Graffy.
So was the old courthouse.
“It was damaged and no longer occupied so it had to be torn down and a new courthouse commissioned," said architect Brian Cearnal.
Most of Downtown Santa Barbara was left in rubble.
But in the wake of the disaster, community leaders decided to re-imagine the city.
“This was sort of the basis of what became the Santa Barbara style of architecture. Sure, the Spanish colonial that’s been borrowed from the Mediterranean, but the mission was what started that whole process for California," said Graffy.
If the earthquake hadn’t happened, would Santa Barbara look the way it does today?
"It would not be the way it is at all ... instead we have a reall gem of the city ... of the hispanic period both Spanish and Mexican eras," said Schwab.
“We’re at the entrance to the 1129 State Street at the corner of the San Marcos building … and this is just another beautiful example of the post earthquake revival that they did for Santa Barbara … instead of just a flat doorway … they just added all this stunning detail … and if you go up there, there’s faces hidden here and there … and all this fun stuff to just take some time and look at it," said Graffy.
One gem of the new-look Santa Barbara was the county courthouse.
“This is the mansion for the people … it has everything a Montecito mansion would have … with all the best architecture and the best features … It’s not your typical courthouse … being built in this amazing style … unlike other Court houses, which were just simply big squares with offices in it … and we just have this beautiful flowing well thought out well designed courthouse," said Graffy.
As the city gets ready to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the quake, historians believe this week is also a celebration of the human spirit.
“But also to do with just the recognition of how we got together … and came together as a town," said docent Bob Dickey of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum.
:And this earthquake caused the city to pull together ... and say together even though we are damaged by this we can do this we can build a town that was better than it was before," said Schwab.
Risen from Rubble: How the 1925 earthquake changed Santa Barbara forever News Channel 3-12.
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