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Tag: Earthquake

  • The Streets Will Crack, The Pipes Will Pop

    Images of The Week

    Earthquake Aftermath – March 11, 1933

    I hope you don’t mind more cracks, debris and structural damage.   I thought I had just one more post of earthquake photographs from 1933, but I’ve found enough material for this week and the next two Mondays.

    Here’s Reverend and Mrs. Cayne at the Tenth Street refugee tent camp mentioned in last week’s post.  You can see the power plant smokestack on First Street behind the tent on the left.

    The earthquake shook this Sixth Street off its foundation.

    The Lothian House at Ocean Avenue and Second Street sustained serious damage, but it was repaired and still stands today.  Those palm trees to the right are much taller now.

    We’ll share more historical pictures and photos of Seal Beach as the year progresses.   Be sure to check back each Monday for a new Seal Beach image.

    Bookmark and Share– Michael Dobkins

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  • Outdoor Dining Amidst The Rubble

    Image of The Week

    Police Station – March, 1933

    I still have more earthquake photographs from 1933 to share, but I’m swamped this week.  I’ll do my best to post the rest next Monday.

    Today’s single image is of the old Seal Beach police department on Central Avenue taken from a vacant lot where the Old Town fire station stands today between 7th and 8th Street.

    I was puzzled by this photo when I first saw it.  Why were these people dining outdoors across the street from the police station?

    My guess — and it’s only a guess — is that this photograph was taken shortly after the Long Beach quake.  This is based on what appears to be brick rubble in the foreground and that this was the area in town where the National Guard set up tents for quake refugees from Long Beach.  So these diners at the table may have been unfortunate Long Beach residents who have just lost their homes.  Another possibility is that this was a Seal Beach family who decided to avoid being indoors when aftershocks hit.

    There’s something about that rubble that still puzzles me.  Where did it come from?  I’ve checked aerial photos from May 1931 and May 1933, and there wasn’t a building on this lot.  Did it come from the collapsed building on Main Street?  Or is this just a picture from different year with no connection to the earthquake?  There’s no way at this late date to know for certain.  Like so many times when we try to find a definite answer to a historical question, we’re only led to more questions.

    We’ll share more historical pictures and photos of Seal Beach as the year progresses.   Be sure to check back every Monday for a new Seal Beach image.

    Bookmark and Share– Michael Dobkins

    Have you enjoyed this and other This Date in Seal Beach History posts?

    If so, please consider making a small donation of a dollar or more to help defray the online subscriptions and other research costs that make this blog possible.

    Donations can be made securely with most major credit cards directly through PayPal. Just click on paypal.me/MichaelDobkins to go to PayPal. Thank you. 

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  • Broken Highways, Gun Clubs and Mud Volcanoes

    Bonus Images of The Week

    Bolsa Chica Gun Club and Mud Volcanoes – March 11, 1933

    Today is the 77th anniversary of the Long Beach Earthquake, and I’m tossing up a few more bonus images of earthquake damage.

    The Bolsa Chica Gun Club off Pacific Coast Highway in the Bolsa Chica marshes is long gone, but it did survive the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake as shown in these photographs taken the day after the quake.

    Road between Seal Beach and the Bolsa Chica Gun Club. Pacific Electric Red Car tracks can be seen in the upper left corner.  Photo by W.W. Bradley.

    Bolsa Chica Gun Club bridge. Photo by W.W. Bradley.

    Bolsa Chica Gun Club. Photo from Mr. Merritt.

    Bolsa Chica Gun Club. Photo from Mr. Merritt.

    Mud volcano on the North end of Seal Beach. Photo by W.W. Bradley.

    You can see these and other photos of damage from the March 10, 1933 Long Beach Earthquake at the U.S. Geologic Survey photographic library by clicking here.

    Time permitting, I’ll share some more photos of earthquake destruction in Seal Beach (and perhaps an ironic tale of Seal Beach’s sinful past) later this week.

    We’ll share more historical pictures and photos of Seal Beach as the year progresses.   Be sure to check back every Monday for a new Seal Beach image.

    Bookmark and Share– Michael Dobkins

    Have you enjoyed this and other This Date in Seal Beach History posts?

    If so, please consider making a small donation of a dollar or more to help defray the online subscriptions and other research costs that make this blog possible.

    Donations can be made securely with most major credit cards directly through PayPal. Just click on paypal.me/MichaelDobkins to go to PayPal. Thank you. 

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  • Now They’re Just More Bricks in The Wall

    Images of The Week

    Seal Beach Elementary School – March 11, 1933

    Thus far, March has brought Seal Beach tsunami warnings, flooding, destroyed piers, and now earthquakes.

    77 years ago this Wednesday, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake shook Southern California at 5:54 P.M., killing 115 people and bringing an estimated 40 million dollars of damages and destruction to homes, businesses, buildings and roads.

    The heaviest damage was in Long Beach, but Seal Beach was also hit hard on Main Street and, as you can see below in these photographs taken the day after the earthquake, at Seal Beach Elementary School, later renamed Mary E. Zoeter School.

     

     

    One of the gentlemen surveying the damage in the third picture is Seal Beach school district superintendent, Jerome Hickman McGaugh, one of the truly great personages of Seal Beach history.

    McGaugh went to Sacramento and successfully lobbied for funds to rebuild Zoeter school.  Bricks from the damaged buildings were used to build a brick wall around the rebuilt school, and it still stands around the Zoeter property today.

    Blowing up a portion of a 1931 aerial photo doesn’t give us many details, but it does offer a glimpse of the pre-earthquake layout of Zoeter school.

    Shifting tectonic plates couldn’t shut down Zoeter School, but dwindling student enrollment in the 1990s lead to the grades being consolidated at J. H McGaugh School (named after you know who), and Zoeter’s administrative offices were then converted to retail use, leaving the playground for recreational use.  In 2007, the remaining empty Zoeter classrooms were razed due to asbestos concerns.  The asbestos-free Sun-N-Fun Preschool classroom at 12th Street and Landing Avenue is now the only part of the property still used for education.

    Time permitting, I’ll share some more photos of earthquake destruction in Seal Beach (and perhaps an ironic tale of Seal Beach’s sinful past) later this week.

    We’ll share more historical pictures and photos of Seal Beach as the year progresses.   Be sure to check back every Monday for a new Seal Beach image.

    – Michael Dobkins

    Have you enjoyed this and other This Date in Seal Beach History posts?

    If so, please consider making a small donation of a dollar or more to help defray the online subscriptions and other research costs that make this blog possible.

    Donations can be made securely with most major credit cards directly through PayPal. Just click on paypal.me/MichaelDobkins to go to PayPal. Thank you. 

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