A photo game

What year is it?

Old photos of the South Coast, from the 1850s to the 1960s. Look for clues in the buildings, the trees and the streets, then pick the decade. 10 photos a round.

All 25 photos and their sources
  • Mission Santa Barbara, California (c1899). Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Co. collection. Source. LOC item record: no known restrictions on publication.
  • Mission of Santa Barbara, outer corridors (c1899). Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Co. collection. Source. LOC item record: no known restrictions on publication.
  • Mission of Santa Barbara, Mission fathers at the fountain (c1899). Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Co. collection. Source. LOC item record: no known restrictions on publication.
  • Mission of Santa Barbara, the garden (c1899). Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Co. collection. Source. LOC item record: no known restrictions on publication.
  • Santa Barbara, Cal. (1900-1906). Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Co. collection. Source. LOC item record: no known restrictions on publication.
  • HABS: General view, Mission Santa Barbara (1936). Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey. Source. Made by the U.S. Government (HABS): public domain.
  • HABS: General view (southeast), Mission Santa Barbara (1936). Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey. Source. Made by the U.S. Government (HABS): public domain.
  • HABS: East facade, Covarrubias Adobe (1936). Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey. Source. Made by the U.S. Government (HABS): public domain.
  • HABS: Fountain in patio, Covarrubias Adobe (1934). Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey. Source. Made by the U.S. Government (HABS): public domain.
  • Mission Santa Barbara in 1856 (1856). Wikimedia Commons. Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • Santa Barbara Presidio (1880). Wikimedia Commons. Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • Our Lady of Sorrows Church and marble yard, State and Figueroa (ca. 1880). Wikimedia Commons. Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • A Sunday concert in the plaza, Santa Barbara (1898). Wikimedia Commons (from Library of Congress, LCCN 2006682460). Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • Mission Santa Barbara, ruins of the old mill (1898). Wikimedia Commons (from USC / California Historical Society). Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • Panoramic view of Santa Barbara (ca. 1900). Wikimedia Commons (from USC / California Historical Society). Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • Arroyo Burro Beach (Hendry's), horse and buggy (ca. 1900). Wikimedia Commons. Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • Summerland oil wells on the Pacific coast (C.C. Pierce) (ca. 1901-1903). Wikimedia Commons (from USC / California Historical Society). Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • Street, Santa Barbara (1902). Wikimedia Commons (from SMU Libraries). Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • Santa Barbara Bay from the Bath House (ca. 1905). Wikimedia Commons (from USC / California Historical Society). Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • Franceschi mansion 'Montarioso', Mission Ridge (1907). Wikimedia Commons. Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • Drive through the oaks, Hope Ranch (1911). Wikimedia Commons (from Library of Congress, LCCN 2004673295). Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • Formal hedges in garden of Mrs. Henry Bothin (F.B. Johnston) (1917). Wikimedia Commons (from Library of Congress, LCCN 2002714602). Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • San Marcos Building destroyed, Anapamu and State (earthquake) (1925). Wikimedia Commons. Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • Mission Santa Barbara after the earthquake, 29 June 1925 (1925). Wikimedia Commons (from Bancroft Library / OAC). Source. Public domain per the file's Wikimedia Commons license data.
  • Trussell-Winchester Adobe (HABS) (1960). Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey. Source. Made by the U.S. Government (HABS): public domain.

Every photo here is public domain or carries no known restrictions on publication: the Library of Congress (its own rights statement on each item, or a federal Historic American Buildings Survey photo) and Wikimedia Commons public-domain files. We resized them; the originals are at the source links. A guess in the right decade scores 10, one decade off scores 5. Photos dated "about" a year near the turn of a decade count either decade. Your score stays in this browser and is never sent anywhere.

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