The 1925 Santa Barbara Earthquake is known for the devastation it inflicted on the community, but its impact is still seen today in the architecture and designs that have made the city the tourist destination it is now.
Neal Graffy, a local historian, shared the earthquake’s impact on Santa Barbara’s architecture during a Visit Santa Barbara presentation Thursday, ahead of the event’s 100th anniversary in June.
Graffy explained that the natural disaster that killed 13 people and devastated downtown Santa Barbara a century ago directly led to the creation of the city’s most famous landmarks and the reconstruction that created the iconic “Santa Barbara style.”
He described the history of Santa Barbara as a colorful tapestry with multiple events and people acting like threads that make up the larger history…