Santa Monica: A Look Back to 1902 from Today, 110 Photographs from the Same Place, Over 115 Years Apart

Over one hundred years ago, volunteer firemen sold a book, titled Santa Monica Fire Department, Souvenir Book of Santa Monica, 1902, door to door. Legend has it that the newly-established fire department promised to fight fires for those who purchased the book, but made no such promise to those who didn’t. These 110 photos are from that book. The author discovered the book years ago in the house he grew up in, which had been owned by Santa Monica Mayor Edmond S. Gillette in the 1930s. The 1902 book contained 110 interior and exterior photographs of houses and businesses in what we know today as western Santa Monica, and a few images from other locations around Los Angeles. When he picked it up again, creating a comparison book seemed like a natural idea.