Deep in the basement of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum lie the remains of 150 years of newsgathering in the city.
Bound volumes from the News-Press’ earliest days and the decades that followed fill shelf upon shelf in the temperature-controlled room. Joining them are thousands of photographs and the negatives shot by News-Press photographers, who covered everything from ribbon-cuttings to wildfires.
New pieces of the extensive collection were acquired last year by the Historical Museum following bankruptcy proceedings that shuttered the storied newspaper in July 2023. The museum placed the only bid on the physical archives of the News-Press during court proceedings.
The digital archives were acquired by local consultant Ben Romo and philanthropist Jason Yardi, who also bought the trademark, internet domain and social media accounts of the News-Press out of U.S. Bankruptcy Court and donated the property to NEWSWELL, part of Arizona State University’s Media Enterprise.
The added pieces join an archive that was begun when the News-Press was still in operation.
“This is the largest acquisition we’ve ever had,” said Dacia Harwood, the museum’s executive director.
In addition to the photographs and bound newspaper volumes acquired from the News-Press, there are microfilms and hundreds of envelopes of news clippings.
Museum archivist Chris Ervin said the new acquisitions include:
- 293 linear feet of photographic materials, including prints, negatives, halftones, Photofaxes and rotogravure, part of the system used to print the newspapers (from the 1920s through 1999)
- 1,525 reels of 35 mm microfilm of nine Santa Barbara newspapers (1869-2020)
- 1,100 bound volumes of newspapers (1871-1959)
- 200 sheets of architectural plans of the News-Press Publishing Co. building on Anacapa Street
- About 1,700 cubic feet of clippings
- Related materials, such as editorial illustrations, institutional records and certificates of recognition
All of the materials are still being organized and the museum is deciding what’s most valuable and how to use it, Harwood said. But some of the new assets are already being incorporated into public offerings.
The museum, founded in 1932, is planning a display around the 100th anniversary of the Santa Barbara earthquake, which turned many buildings into rubble on June 29, 1925. Newspaper archives from that tragic day that include an array of original clippings detailing the destruction will be used in an upcoming gallery exhibition.
Museum visitors also can expect a new exhibit that will incorporate many of the News-Press’ photos over the years of the Old Spanish Days Fiesta, a longtime Santa Barbara tradition.
The museum hopes to digitize as much of the archives as possible, making them more accessible to the public.
Digitizing also could help protect the newsprint that has deteriorated over the years. Some of the oldest newspapers from the 1860s and 1870s aren’t in good shape, Harwood said.
But thanks to the Historical Museum, those elements have now been preserved.
Chris Woodyard is an award-winning veteran journalist and blogger who now writes for NEWSWELL. He was the Los Angeles bureau chief for USA Today and has worked as a reporter for the Houston Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Las Vegas Sun and other major news outlets.