Centennial Videos/Podcasts

The Collections Podcast

The Collections is a podcast produced by The Huntington, hosted by Huntington President Karen R. Lawrence. In this first season, inaugurated during the institution’s Centennial, Dr. Lawrence talks with the heads of the library, art museum, and botanical gardens about why they do what they do and what makes their work at The Huntington so deeply rewarding.

Season 1, Episode 1 – March 23, 2020: President Karen R. Lawrence talks with Sandra L. Brooke, Avery Director of the Library at The Huntington about the Library’s rare books and manuscripts collections, digitization, and what’s gained from having access to the real thing.

Season 1, Episode 2 – March 23, 2020: President Karen R. Lawrence talks with Christina Nielsen, Hannah and Russel Kully Director of the Art Museum at The Huntington about the European and American collections and their relevance today, and the importance of art conservation.

Season 1, Episode 3 – March 23, 2020: President Karen R. Lawrence talks with James P. Folsom, the Telleen/Jorgensen Director of the Botanical Gardens at The Huntington about the history of the gardens and how new technology and garden practice is helping the garden prepare for climate change.

Eavesdropping on the Gold Rush

J. Goldsborough Bruff was a cartographer who got gold fever and went west to California in 1849. Like most everyone else, he found no gold, but he left behind something truly unique. And one hundred years ago Henry Huntington acquired it for the library.

Time Lapse of The Huntington’s 2020 Rose Parade Float, “Cultivating Curiosity”

For the first time in 50 years, The Huntington joined Pasadena’s world-famous Rose Parade® with a spectacular float, themed “Cultivating Curiosity,” capturing the spirit of The Huntington’s Centennial Celebration and winning  the Golden State Award for most outstanding depiction of life in California. 

Pollinating Blue Boy

For one hundred years The Huntington has been spreading knowledge like pollen, helping scholarship bloom into exhibitions and publications. Sometimes the right pollen is hard to get though, that’s why it’s good to have friends who can help.

Nineteen Nineteen

Organized around themes defined by the verbs “Fight,” “Return,” “Map,” “Move,” and “Build,” the exhibition “Nineteen Nineteen” showcases items that embody an era in flux. Rare books, posters, letters, photographs, diaries, paintings, sculpture, and ephemera will be on view. Highlights include representative items from 1919, such as a 37-foot map of a Pacific Electric (Red Car) route in Los Angeles, astronomical photographs of the moon and constellations, German Revolution posters, and suffragist pamphlets, alongside important works acquired by Henry E. Huntington in the lead-up to that year, including the original manuscript of Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography, the journal of Aaron Burr, and the memoirs of Gen. William T. Sherman.

The Last Orange Grove in Town

In 1919, Henry and Arabella Huntington signed the trust indenture that formed The Huntington. But in 1919 this was still a working ranch; the library was still under construction; and Henry was still gung-ho for a citrus operation that he hoped would subsidize his plans for a public institution.

Centennial Launch Event - Sept. 5, 2019

The Huntington’s Centennial Celebration kicks off Sept. 5, 2019, setting in motion a yearlong series of exhibitions, public programs, artist interventions, and more—inviting people with a range of interests to engage with the venerable institution’s collections and the connections they offer, and to join an exploration of ideas that will shape the future. The launch event included news announcements from Karen R. Lawrence, president of The Huntington; panel discussion with Roy Choi, Juan Devis, Victoria J. Orphan, Yuval Sharon, and Melodie Yashar; music performance and conversation with Dexter Story and Josh Kun. More