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The Jim Crain Collection: Texas, California & the Old West

Fri, Nov 20, 2026 09:00AM EST
  2026-11-20 09:00:00 2026-11-20 09:00:00 America/New_York Fleischer's Auctions Fleischer's Auctions : The Jim Crain Collection: Texas, California & the Old West https://bid.fleischersauctions.com/auctions/fleischers-auctions/the-jim-crain-collection-texas-california-the-old-west-23552
The lifetime collection of author and photo historian, Jim Crain (1939-2025). The catalog is exclusively devoted to antique photography with an emphasis on the Old West, California, Texas, and Native Americana from 1840-1900.
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Lot 749

[LOS ANGELES, EARTHQUAKE] Arlington Hotel & Church of Our Lady of Sorrows Destroyed in 1925 Santa Barbara Earthquake

Estimate: $250 - $500
Starting Bid
$100

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $10
$100 $25
$300 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$50,000 $5,000

STEREOVIEWS DOCUMENTING 1925 SANTA BARBARA EARTHQUAKE

 

Pair of silver gelatin stereoviews documenting the aftermath of the Santa Barbara earthquake, photographed and published by B. D. Jackson, Glendale, California, June 29, 1925. Each on cardstock mount with series title "Southern California Scenes," view title, and Jackson's 710 East Elk Avenue imprint to mount rectos.


1. 513 - Arlington Hotel  - Santa Barbara earthquake - June 29, 1925. 

The Arlington was a grand Victorian hotel opened on 27 February 1876 as Santa Barbara's first luxury resort hosting such luminaries as Presidents Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt. It was gutted by a devastating fire in 1909 but was rebuilt in the Spanish Revival style reopening in 1911, but could not withstand the severe damage of the 1925 quake. The massive rooftop water tank collapsed through the roof, killing two guests. The hotel was never rebuilt.  

 

2. 516 - Church of Our Lady of Sorrows - Santa Barbara earthquake - June 29, 1925. 

The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows was first built in 1855 at the corner of State and Figueroa Street but was replaced in 1867 after a devastating fire, and the bell towers were added in 1904. After the severe damage from the 1925 earthquake, the church was rebuilt at a new location on the corner of East Sola and Anacapa Street, opening in 1929.  

 

Historically compelling pair of 1925 stereoviews documenting the severe structural destruction caused by the 6.8 magnitude Santa Barbara earthquake that struck the Central Coast of California on the morning of 29 June, 1925.

 

Bradford "Dan" Jackson (c. 1850–1937) was a Southern California commercial and documentary photographer recognized for his stereographs and postcards capturing regional expansion, landscapes, and natural disasters. Operating out of Pomona, Pasadena, and Glendale under his Southern California Scenes imprint, Jackson left studio portraiture to focus on field work, documenting key historic events, including the 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake and the 1934 Montrose–La Crescenta flood. The Huntington Library and the Glendora Historical Society now preserve his extensive output of over 4,800 negatives and stereo prints.

 

[Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards, Stereographs] [Western Americana, Western History, Western Expansion, Wild West]

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