Potter Theatre Interior Ruins After Santa Barbara Earthquake (1925)

The collapsed interior of the Potter Theatre showing ornate proscenium boxes, classical molding, and massive piles of brick and roof rubble. — Potter Theatre Interior Ruins After Santa Barbara Earthquake (1925) · Donald A. Hall Estate Collection

A sobering study in structural failure by Donald A. Hall Sr., documenting the collapsed interior of the Potter Theatre following the June 29, 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake. The photograph captures the ornate, three-tiered Baroque box balconies and proscenium arch exposed to the sky amidst fallen brick and crushed roof trusses.