Local

Remember when: Take a look into SLO County’s past with these 7 stories

Stories by The Tribune journalists, with AI summarization

San Luis Obispo County’s past comes alive through photos, films, and oral accounts. The story of the Andrews Building shows how fires and changing building codes shaped downtown architecture. A rare 1938 travel film tours prewar landscapes and lost landmarks, such as Morro Bay’s old hotel and undeveloped coastline.

Stories like Photos From the Vault use newspaper archives and community memories to spotlight moments, from notorious red-light districts to historic heatwaves when entire towns relied on water hoses to cool off. These images and stories capture how people, places, and traditions have evolved across generations.

The Osos Street side of the Andrews Bank building was being sand blasted to remove paint May 7, 1974. At far left across Monterey St. a corner of the Obispo Theater shows. The movie palace burned down in Dec. 1975. The lot at far right is now the City/County Library. By Wayne Nicholls

NO. 1: LANDMARK BUILDING CHANGED THE WAY DOWNTOWN SLO WAS BUILT — AND IT STILL STANDS TODAY

Parts of the historic downtown building are more than 130 years old. | Published May 18, 2024 | Read Full Story by David Middlecamp

Glenn Clark gives himself a cool shower during work on a construction site in Paso Robles as the temperatures continued in the 100s as seen here on June 25, 1976. By Jeanne Huber

NO. 2: HOW DID SLO COUNTY DEAL WITH RECORD-BREAKING HEAT WAVE IN THE ’70S? THE CLASSIC WATER HOSE

In any era, water is the classic way to cool off, from the hose, a giant swamp cooler at the Mid-State Fair or a spray bottle. | Published July 6, 2024 | Read Full Story by David Middlecamp

More than 1,000 Chumash artifacts were collected during excavation work at the site of PG&E’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. Excavations took place for the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History as the plant was under construction on June 10, 1968. By Barry Minett

NO. 3: DOZENS OF INDIGENOUS REMAINS WERE TAKEN FROM SLO COUNTY. GETTING THEM BACK IS NOT EASY

“They were already laid to rest for the first time, and now we have to do it again,” a tribal officer for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians told The Tribune. | Published October 27, 2024 | Read Full Story by Ania Keenan Kaytlyn Leslie

Monterey Street looking east from Mission. (Mission Plaza was not built yet) Dec. 18, 1963, at night. Anderson Hotel and Obispo and Fremont Theaters. By Neil Norum

NO. 4: FROM FISHING OUTLAWS TO REDLIGHT DISTRICT: SEE THE TOP SLO COUNTY THROWBACK STORIES OF 2024

Photojournalist David Middlecamp reflects back on the founding of Photos from the Vault and what he’s learned. | Published December 28, 2024 | Read Full Story by David Middlecamp

The San Luis Obispo Southern Pacific Railroad roundhouse in 1953. The last of Southern Pacific’s steam locomotives pulled out of the roundhouse in September 1956. By San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum

NO. 5: THESE 13 WOMEN KEPT SLO’S RAILROAD RUNNING DURING WWII. ‘A MAN’S JOB — BUT I CAN DO IT’

“One of my girlhood ambitions was to get right into the heart of the whistling demons,” one said. | Published January 11, 2025 | Read Full Story by David Middlecamp

People swim and boat at Atascadero Lake in a screenshot from the 1938 San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce film “Recreation Unlimited.” By San Luis Obispo County Chamber of Commerce

NO. 6: WHAT DID SLO COUNTY LOOK LIKE IN 1938? RARE TRAVEL FILM OFFERS A COLOR TOUR

The 55-minute film includes visits to various landmarks and a circle flight over San Luis Obispo County. | Published March 29, 2025 | Read Full Story by David Middlecamp

This aerial photo shows PG&E power plant was still in operation and had fuel oil tanks in 1984. This was before the boardwalk was built to Morro Rock. Also seen harbor mouth with jetties, and Highway 1 in foreground. Reporter Brooks Townes took a flight over coastal areas from Morro Bay to Avila Beach on Feb. 22, 1984.

NO. 7: SOAR OVER SLO COUNTY IN AERIAL PHOTOS OF COAST FROM MORE THAN 40 YEARS AGO

The photos show Morro Bay, Port San Luis and even Diablo Canyon ahead of its first official year of operation. | Published April 5, 2025 | Read Full Story by David Middlecamp

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.