abc 7 news cameraman clyde powell was the first to take us inside the crack that opened up in the nearby mountains at ground zero. abc 7 news reporter david louie joins us with more. >> reporter: very near where i'm standing 25 years ago, the loma prieta earthquake created a very large and dramatic chasm. it has been filled in and largely forgotten but there is still visible damage in downtown santa cruz. they gathered for a moment of silence to remember those who died. only a few feet away, a hole in the ground remains after 25 years where a bookstore once stood. it collapsed, killing two employees of a coffee shop from the falling bricks. one of them was 21-year-old shawn mccormick, seen in a family photo with his then 18 month old daughter amber. shawn's sister terry said the shock overwhelmed her and her mother. >> my mom collapsed. she lost it. we had to take her to the hospital. just the hours and days following that was just surreal. >> reporter: the toddler who grew up without a father says today's gathering has eased the sadness of the loma prieta anniversary, as people remember

. >> abc 7 news photographer clyde powell revisited the spot where he shot this video near the epicenter in the santa cruz mountains. 25 years later, it's been filled in and covered with gravel. no longer a reminder of that deadly event. it's bringing back vivid memories for the staff at the san francisco marriott marquis. the hotel had just been built and opened the doors for the first time the morning of the quake. chris was a banquet supervisor back then. heas in a lower level ballroom when t ground shook and the chandeliers shattered. >> as the room began to shake, the crystals rattled, cracked and some of them if in front of me and behind me as if it was a hailstorm. you could feel the waves that were literally laying on the ground as the floor buckled and waved across the ballroom. >> the hotel was not damaged. it was one of the fewuildings in the area with electrici. for safety, the hotel guests spent the night in a banquet hall. they will honor the workers who comforted guest that is day. more than 100 of them still work there. >>> we are shortening our newscast to bring you a ec

. >> abc 7 news photographer clyde powell revisit the spot where 25 years ago he shot the dramatic video of human crack interthe quake epicenter in the santa cruz mountains. left little doubt of the power of 6.9 magnitude quake. powell found clever way to document the width and depth of the crack in the earth crust. >> i have a little camera that i attached to light stand with tape and just kind of about weptd in the crack as far as i could stintd. almost as long about 8 feet. >> crack noise longer visible today filled in covered with gravel. no longer reminder of a deadly event. >> it was kind of really the ground zero of of the earthquake at the time. because it was such dramatic visual affect of what happened after the quake. >> in the santa cruz mountain david louie abc 7 news. >> san francisco marriott marquis is commemorating the 25th anniversary of the earthquake. hotel has unique connection to the disaster. marriott opened the doors the morning of the earthquake. 225 employee nouing rated the hotel still work their today. remember the intense shaking. fight whole kitchen rumble.

. >> abc 7 news photographer clyde powell revisited the spot where he shot this video near the epicenter in the santa cruz mountains. 25 years later, it's been filled in and covered with gravel. no longer a reminder of that deadly event. it's bringing back vivid memories for the staff at the san francisco marriott marquis. the hotel had just been built and opened the doors for the first time the morning of the quake. chris was a banquet supervisor back then. he was in a lower level ballroom when the ground shook and the chandeliers shattered. >> as the room began to shake, the crystals rattled, cracked and some of them if in front of me and behind me as if it was a hailstorm. you could feel the waves that were literally laying on the ground as the floor buckled and waved across the ballroom. >> the hotel was not damaged. it was one of the few buildings in the area with electricity. for safety, the hotel guests spent the night in a banquet hall. they will honor the workers who comforted guest that is day. more than 100 of them still work there. >>> we are shortening our newscast to bring