Block Party Shakes Up Downtown Santa Barbara for Centennial of 1925 ‘Great Quake’

EQ-25 Alliance’s Saturday Event Included Disaster Preparedness Booths, Vintage Car Show, and Earthquake Simulator

EQ-25’s Summer Solstice Parade float was on full display, parked on state street for visitors to get up-close to one of Solstice 2025’s parade favorites. | Credit: Elaine Sanders

This Sunday, June 29, marks the centennial of the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that shook Santa Barbara in 1925, leaving 74 buildings demolished and 11 people dead. Over the past two years, a group of local nonprofits, businesses, government agencies and residents gathered to form the EQ-25 Alliance to host events across the city to “learn from our past, reflect on our present, and plan for our future.”

Vintage auto show featuring a replica of famed 20’s race car Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Saturday’s EQ-25 Centennial Commemoration. | Credit: Elaine Sanders

Farmers market goers who sauntered up the 1100 block of State Street to the tune of live Roaring Twenties swing music, were presented with a fair lining the street complete with disaster preparedness booths, a vintage car show, and an earthquake simulator called “The Quake Cottage.”

“The Quake Cottage” drew lines of locals, eagerly awaiting beside the platform of the eight-seat box that tossed guests to and fro, simulating the motion of a large earthquake. During the 25-second shake, a common duration of a real earthquake, the interior dressed to look like a home gave the riders a realistic, and dramatic, experience.

Southern California’s intertwining faultlines “can have magnitude 7 or greater earthquakes at any time,” says Mark Benthien, associate director of public education and preparedness at the Statewide California Earthquake Center, as he references a 3D map at his booth. “It’s important for people to know what to do before to prepare, what to do during to survive, and then how to begin the recovery after.”

Banthien says that the first step of Earthquake Country Alliance’s seven-step preparedness guide is to secure your space. By fastening large bookcases and furniture to the wall, moving heavy things to lower places away from beds and couches, and securing cabinet doors, Santa Barbarans can make their homes safer for when the next shake happens. Residents can also make sure they are ready with this “go bag” checklist.

A working 1917 spark gap transmitter radio with an archival photo of radio technicians operating a similar radio after the 1925 quake that shook Santa Barbara. Continuously run since 1920, the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club was proud to bring a piece of history alive for the public. | Credit: Elaine Sanders

Block Party Shakes Up Downtown Santa Barbara for Centennial of 1925 ‘Great Quake’

[Click to zoom] “The Quake Cottage” earthquake simulator in action | Credit: Elaine Sanders

EQ-25’s Summer Solstice Parade float made an appearance, letting passers-by get up close and replicate the earthquake themselves. Parked across the roadway was a line of vintage vehicles from the early 1900s, including a replica of the famed ’20s racing car Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

“We’re telling history, but we’re hoping to have some fun with it too, so that we can get more people involved,” said Elly Iverson, EQ-25’s event producer of EJI Event Company.

A few members from Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club, which has been continuously run since 1920, had a working 1917 spark gap transmitter set up at their booth. This radio would have been similar to the ones used after the 1925 catastrophe by emergency services to communicate to other towns and even across the country.

American Red Cross volunteers Erick McCurdy and Ulysses Arosco handed out disaster preparedness information. They also were spreading the word about the ARC’s Sound the Alarm program, which buys and installs smoke detectors for free for eligible individuals. | Credit: Elaine Sanders
EQ-25 event producer Elly Iverson of EJI Event Company. | Credit: Elaine Sanders
Members of the public collect earthquake preparedness information from experts Anthony Rodriguez from the Santa Barbara County Food Bank and Mark Benthien from Statewide California Earthquake Center. | Credit: Elaine Sanders
Olivia Mora was hired by EQ-25 as a walking photo booth. Her camera of choice is a Korona Series 2B that has been retrofitted with an iPad to become a digital camera. Mora says when she saw the camera, “I had to have it.” | Credit: Elaine Sanders
Ash Strickland from the Santa Barbara Historical Museum handing out stickers to Faith and Jess who had just come from the farmers market just down the block from the event. The Santa Barbara Historical Museum also had earthquake fact bingo and archival photo puzzles for event goers. | Credit: Elaine Sanders
Being just around the corner, Santa Barbara Public Library wheeled out carts of books onto State Street to join in on the festivities at Saturday’s EQ-25 Centennial Commemoration. | Credit: Elaine Sanders

Sunday’s events include an inter-faith service starting at 2 p.m. at the Santa Barbara Mission followed by a 3 p.m. bell ringing to remember the 11 lives lost on that day 100 years ago.

“Everybody forgets until something happens,” says Anthony Rodriguez, operations and disaster services specialist for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County. “We have to remember the history of what has happened to be able to prepare for the future.”