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

As an avid consumer of anything historical, this book does an excellent job of melding the old with the new, the past with the present. The rustic feel of the original 1902 photos takes one back to a simpler time when the fastest mode of transportation was a trusty steed and the only pollution you had to worry about was horse poop. The modern photos show the jarring transformation of Santa Monica from a sleepy beach town to the chic and trendy metropolis it is today. My favorite photo is of 3rd St. Promenade which shows the original corner store with horses and carriage, superimposed onto its contemporary version. My only regret is I will be dead when they do the next edition 100 years from now. One can only wonder what Santa Monica will look like than.

Modern Santa Monica is a youthful and vibrant city but it wasn’t always what you see now. Though the city has evolved, it’s history is not lost. "Santa Monica: A Look Back to 1902 from Today" is a reminiscent look at the past juxtaposed and transposed against the Santa Monica we know today… and you will see that not everything has changed through the years! It is an entertaining and important story preserved through beautiful before and after photographs and maps of this historical city.

New coffee table find!!!! This beautiful book of art and design encapsulates everything that I love about Santa Monica. So happy with this purchase. If you are looking for a conversation starter among architecture fans, I can’t recommend this more. Thank you. Hope to see more. What’s next? Boston, London, Topeka?

Love it. Beautiful pictures and thoughtfully done. Maybe next edition have some years in between?? 💕

Really cool look at how the city has changed.

Loved this book. I've seen other books that compare historic photos with present day views but I've never seen it done like this before. The past and the present are merged together in one picture so you can really compare the position of the earlier view with the present view. I read that the author and his Photoshop partner were careful to match the camera position and even time of day to match the new picture to the old one seamlessly. And the Special Bonus is that they include Sanborn Maps at the end of the book so you can see exactly where every picture was taken. Nobody knows about Sanborn Maps but they are an excellent tool to understanding a city's past. They show where every building was on it's lot in relation to all the other buildings around it. I would like to see this pair repeat this format in other cities such as New York and San Francisco. Well done.

Very informative and well organized. Many "I did not know that" interesting facts. Good storytelling pace.Great job