Today I'm posting two images from the amazing collection at USC's Digital Archive. The first image (top) is labeled "the earliest known general view" of San Juan Capistrano. It was taken from the "hills west of Rio Trabuco" around 1887. The second image is a view of the Holly Sugar Plant in Huntington Beach, from around 1910. .
USC's Digital Archive includes tens of thousands of old Southern California photos like these. Whatever your area of interest, they've got something to amaze and amuse. Do, however, watch out for the conditions of use, which generally involve money changing hands. (I'm hoping I don't get a big bill just for promoting their site like this.) Thanks to Don Ballard for calling my attention to this amazing repository of information.
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On a far less massive scale, but still of interest, both the Orange County Archives photostream and the Orange County History image pool continue to expand on Flickr. It's worth checking in from time to time and seeing what's new on both.