Here are some historic photos of Fullerton juxtaposed with a photo of the same subject matter today, from approximately the same angle. The historic photos are mostly courtesy of the Fullerton Public Library Local History Room. The contemporary photos are mostly by me.

Harbor Blvd. and Commonwealth

I begin with one of the first photos taken of Fullerton, the corner of Spadra (now Harbor) and Commonwealth Avenue, taken in 1889. Left to right, the buildings are: The Chadbourne Building (a social hall with some businesses), The St. George Hotel (which no longer exists), and Stern and Goodman’s (a general store). Today, in 2023, the the buildings are (left to right): Salon Technique, Mickey’s Irish Pub, and All About Pho.

Below are photos (past and present) of each building):

Stern & Goodman/All About Pho

St. George Hotel/Mickey’s Irish Pub

Chadbourne Building/Salon Technique

Alpha Beta/Slice

Below are two photographs of the southwest corner of Harbor Blvd. and Wilshire Ave.–one of the Alpha Beta market (and the Rialto Theater) circa 1920s, and the other of Slice, a Japanese restaurant in 2023.

First Christian Church

Below are two photographs of the First Christian Church at the northeast corner of Harbor Blvd. and Wilshire Ave, one from 1927, and one from 2023.

116 W. Wilshire Ave.

Below are two photographs of 116 W. Wilshire Ave., which in 1946 was the offices of the Fullerton News-Tribune Newspaper and in 2023 is Front Street/Back Alley Bar and Grill.

Pacific Electric Bridge/Berkeley Ave.

The first photo below shows the Pacific Electric train bridge crossing Harbor Blvd. at what is now Berkeley Ave. The Pacific Electric “red cars” were a sprawling interurban passenger rail system, the largest of its kind in the world in the 1920s. The “red cars” were dismantled and service ended in the 1950s, as automobiles largely replaced trains as the dominant mode of transportation in southern California. The second photo shows the Harbor/Berkeley crossing today. Note that there are now two gas stations at the intersection today.

Santa Fe Train Depot

Below are two photographs of the Santa Fe Train Depot, one from 1967 and one from 2023.

California Hotel/Villa Del Sol

Below are two photographs of courtyard of the California Hotel, now called the Villa del Sol, one from 1924 and one from 2023.

Harbor and Glenwood

Below are two photographs of the northeast corner of Harbor Blvd. and Glenwood, one of Helen’s (ice cream shop and cafe) around the 1920s, and one from 2023, of McAulay & Wallace Mortuary.

The Chapman Building

Below are two photographs of the Chapman Building at the southeast corner of Wilshire and Harbor Blvd., one from the early 1923, as the building was being built, and one from 2023.

Malden and Commonwealth

Below are two photographs of the northeast corner of Malden Ave. and Commonwealth Ave., one from the early 1900s, of a Presbyterian Church (which has since been torn down), and one from 2023, of a car dealership.

Harbor and Amerige

Below are two photographs of the northeast corner of Harbor Blvd. and Amerige Ave., one from around 1910, of P.A. Schumacher’s Real Estate/Insurance/Notary Public business, and one from 2023 of The Night Owl, a coffee shop.

Malden Bridge

Below are two photographs of the bridge at Malden and Chapman, one from 1935 when the bridge was constructed as a WPA project during the Great Depression, and one from 2023.

Harbor Blvd.

Below are two photographs looking south on Harbor Blvd toward Amerige Ave. in Downtown Fullerton, one from the 1950s, and one from today.

Baptist Church/Wilshire Avenue Community Church

Below are two photographs of the southeast corner of Wilshire and Pomona Avenues–one of the Baptist Church, built in 1912, and one of the Wilshire Avenue Community Church today, which was built in 1968.

Carnegie Library/Fullerton Museum Center

Below are two photographs of the northwest corner of Wilshire and Pomona Avenues–one of the Carnegie Library, which opened in 1907 and one of the Fullerton Museum Center, built in 1942.

Fullerton Grammar School/Fullerton College Parking Lot

Below are two photographs of the northwest corner of Wilshire and Lawrence Avenues–the first is of Fullerton’s second Grammar School, which opened in 1913, but was badly damaged in the 1933 earthquake and eventually torn down. It is now a Fullerton College parking lot, as shown in the second photo.

Here is the school from another angle, with a photo today from (approximately) the same angle.

And, just for fun, here’s another photo of the school.

Concoran Paper Company/Metrolink Parking

Below are two photographs looking southeast from the far west end of the train station platform (near the bridge that crosses Harbor). The first shows a passenger train passing the Concoran Paper Company in 1923, with the Consolidated Ice Company (new brick building under construction) in the background. The second shows the view today of a freight train passing what is now Metrolink parking, and Cornerstone Church (the Ice Company building) in the background.

Chapman School/Fullerton College

Below are two photographs of the southeast corner of Chapman and Lemon–the first is of the Chapman Grammar School in the early 1920s, and the second is what the corner looks like today.

Fire Station/Half Off Books

The first photo below is of the Fullerton Fire Station on Wilshire Avenue in 1937. The second photo is of Half Off Books in the Wilshire Promenade Building, which interestingly mirrors the design of the original building.

McMahan’s Fire/Walk on Wilshire

The first photo below is of a fire at the McMahon’s building on Wilshire Avenue in 1940. The second photo is of the Walk on Wilshire area today.

Linebarger House/Downtown Plaza Park

The first photo below is of a Craftsman-style bungalow house built by Dallison Smith Linebarger at the southwest corner of Pomona and Wilshire around 1911. Linebarger moved to Fullerton in 1899, just two years after the town was founded. He owned a livery business and then a citrus ranch. He also served for ten years on the Orange County Board of Supervisors. The house was demolished in 1981 when the Wilshire public parking structure was built. The lot was later developed into a downtown park to complement the plaza, which is shown in the second photo.

Gas Company Building/Parking Lot

The first photo below is of the Southern Counties Gas Company building on Wilshire Avenue next to the Chapman building in the 1920s. The second photo is of a small parking lot today where the gas company building once stood.

Fullerton Hospital

Built in 1913, the building on the northeast corner of Amerige and Pomona served as Fullerton’s second hospital, well before St. Jude was built. Today, the building houses Radiant Futures, formerly the Women’s Transitional Living Center.

Landmark Plaza

The Farmers and Merchants Bank building (now called Landmark Plaza) on the southeast corner of Harbor and Amerige, was built in 1904, and received a beaux-arts façade in 1922. The building was rehabilitated in 1989. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

DeLuxe Hotel (Allen Hotel)

The 20-room DeLuxe Hotel was built in 1923. The name of the hotel was changed to the Allen Hotel in 1945. This building was rehabilitated in the early 1990s as part of a Redevelopment Agency-assisted plan to develop the site as a mixed-used project.

Santa Fe Park

The Santa Fe Park stood behind the original Santa Fe Train Station (built 1888), which was torn down and rebuilt in 1930. Today, it is the parking lot behind the train station.

Maple School

Maple School was built in 1924, renovated in the 1930s, and again in the 1990s.

Kerr House

Originally built by rancher John Kerr in 1882, this is the oldest home existing in Fullerton. In 1919, Rufus Porter, son of pioneer rancher Benjamin Porter, bought the property, and the orange ranch continued on the 40 acres of surrounding land until 1952, at which time a housing tract replaced the grove. The Porter family owned the house until 1984, when it was renovated and enlarged for use as a restaurant. It is now a residential rehabilitation facility.

Marwood Apartments/Wahoos Tacos

The Marwood Apartments and Bungalow Court, one of Fulleton’s first apartment complexes, was built in 1913 on the northeast corner of Harbor and Whiting. It was demolished in 1980 and a new building eventually built that today is Wahoo’s Tacos.

Harbor and Amerige

Here are two photos looking at the northeast corner of Harbor and Amerige, circa 1950s and 1960s, showing Reed’s Cafe and the Chapman building, followed two photos from approximately the same angles today, showing the Night Owl Cafe and other businesses.

First Masonic Temple/Parker Building

Below is a photo of the first Masonic Temple in Fullerton on the northwest corner of Harbor and Amerige around 1919, and a photo of what is now called the Parker Building today.