Mysterious photo shows military parade in downtown SLO. When was it shot?
Usually a photographic print in The Tribune’s archives has a newspaper clipping to go with it, or a date scrawled on the back.
Not in this case. This photo, which depicts a military parade in downtown San Luis Obispo, is a bit of a history mystery.
The Tribune needs your help figuring out exactly when this picture was taken.
The view is looking down Higuera Street on a sunny day with sharp shadows as the clock reads 10:20 am. That’s our first big clue.
The clock tower on top of the Warden tower building was removed in 1955, although the building still stands at the corner of Chorro and Higuera streets. Earthquake concerns felled the tower.
Cars are parked in both directions and there are no parking meters.
The second big clue is the U.S. Navy band playing in an amphibious vehicle.
During World War II, Morro Bay was the site of an amphibious training base, located where the shuttered Morro Bay Power Plant is today. The base was in operation from late 1941 to Oct. 1945.
The flags along the street and the bunting on the second vehicle suggest that the occasion could be the end of World War II or a patriotic holiday such as Memorial Day or Independence Day.
Early in the war, efforts were concentrated on building the war effort so perhaps this photo was shot in 1944 or 45.
A group of women are in the second craft. A dignitary follows in a convertible and he is followed by men carrying dark flags.
Most people are wearing long sleeves and sweaters, but the women in the second vehicle are in short sleeves.
Most of the downtown buildings still have their original brick facades. J.C. Penney Company covered over its facade in the early 1960s.
Signs can be seen for Sears and Roebuck and J.C. Penney, then the retail giants of downtown SLO. Just outside of the frame to the right would be Montgomery Ward.
Guy Crabb’s book ”San Luis Obispo: Higuera Street,” covering 100 years of downtown businesses, shows Weishar’s City Pharmacy, Chitwood Bootery and Clarance Brown Credit Jeweler on that stretch circa 1945.
A sign for the Cut Rate Drugs store at the corner of Chorro and Higuera streets in the Johnson Building can be seen in the mystery photo. It isn’t listed in Crabb’s book.
License plates are washed out without much detail due to the bright sun.
The print is marked in pencil with crop marks for The Tribune’s composing room, and a note on the back says to run the photo three columns wide. I just wish I knew which day it was shot.
If you have an idea when this photo might have been taken, please share what you know.
Send me an email at dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com and together we will try to pin down the date and occasion.
This story was originally published May 7, 2022 at 5:05 AM.
