Then-and-now photos: See how trees completely changed the look of downtown SLO

Editor’s note: This is one in our new “Then and Now” series comparing historical San Luis Obispo County photos to the same locations today.

Between curb extensions, parklets and new bike lane striping, the streets of downtown San Luis Obispo has been undergoing some changes in recent years.

But there have been bigger ones in the city’s past.

Look at photos from the downtown area prior to 1963 and you’ll notice something missing: trees.

The trees make downtown San Luis Obispo more welcoming, shady and cool.

As designer and downtown historian Pierre Rademaker observes, they also mask the hodgepodge architectural styles displayed by of the various buildings.

The trees have been here almost six decades, earning the city recognition from the Arbor Foundation.

See how different SLO’s leafy downtown looks now vs. the past using our sliders, comparing present Higuera Street to a scene from 1963 and Monterey Street to an image from a full century ago.

This story was originally published May 10, 2023 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Then-and-now photos: See how trees completely changed the look of downtown SLO."

David Middlecamp

The Tribune

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David Middlecamp is a photojournalist and third-generation Cal Poly graduate who has covered the Central Coast region since the 1980s. A career that began developing and printing black-and-white film now includes an FAA-certified drone pilot license. He also writes the history column “Photos from the Vault.”