Capitola Historical Museum's Carolyn Swift and Patch photographer Kevin Johnson give a comparison of Capitola-by-the-Sea, then and now.
The cottages, upper left, still exist today along Capitola Avenue, although they were expanded into larger homes long ago. This photograph was taken about 1912, when a crew of workers drained a small lagoon along Noble Gulch. Today the site is occupied by Capitola City Hall.
Capitola has grown dramatically since the first photograph was taken back in 1912. Large trees have filled in to obscure the view of the Wharf, and the once-small cottages have made way for large homes and business buildings.