[Grammar] It was here that or it was here where...?

[sssantos1]

Hi! I found this on a TOEFL preparation website: https://www.examenglish.com/TOEFL/toefl_reading.htm

[FONT=&quot] He tried to find work as a freelance journalist and[/FONT][FONT=&quot] it was here that [/FONT][FONT=&quot]he changed his name to Robert Capa, mainly because he thought it would sound more American.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] In 1936, after the breakout of the Spanish Civil war, Capa went to Spain [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot]and it was here over the next three years[/FONT][FONT=&quot] that he built his reputation as a war photographer.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] It was here too[/FONT][FONT=&quot]in 1936 that he took one of his most famous pictures, [/FONT]The Death of a Loyalist Soldier.

I find the use of it was here... somewhat odd. Are these sentences correct?

Thanks!

 

[bhaisahab]

Yes, they are correct.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

It was here that . . . . = This was the place that . . . . = Here is where . . . .

Actually, I don't really mind "It was here where . . . . ," either, but it might sound a little less natural to some people.