Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
The Shapiro Center for American History and Culture
The Shapiro Center was created to advance scholarship, knowledge, and understanding of American history and culture—especially of the early republic and of the nation’s founders and leaders.
It also promotes use of The Huntington’s premier library collections in this field, which are unique west of the Mississippi.
Established in 2019, thanks to the vision and generosity of L. Dennis and Susan R. Shapiro, the Shapiro Center engages both scholarly and general audiences. Its Los Angeles home offers a special opportunity to explore West Coast and global perspectives on the development of America and the genesis and evolution of national institutions.
The Huntington is one of the largest repositories of American historical materials in the nation. Extraordinary American presidential and founders papers sit within a broad humanities context that includes expansive and diverse holdings in American history, literature, and high and popular culture. Rich library and archival materials are complemented by the Huntington Art Museum’s outstanding American art collections.
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Declaration of Independence, New-York : Printed by John Holt, in Water-Street, 1776, with the manuscript minutes of John McKesson, secretary of New York's Provincial Congress, on front and back, July 9-30, 1776. RB 81684
Powell Press Service, Women representing Canada and Mexico shaking hands at the Roosevelt Highway Dedication, Sycamore Canyon, Malibu, June 29, 1929. Ernest Marquez Collection. photCL 555 06 1348
George Washington, letter to John Langdon, expressing dismay over the conduct of New Hampshire regarding the ratification of the Constitution, April 22, 1788. The Shapiro Collection.
George Catlin, Omaha Group: Ky-ho-ca-wa-shu-shee, Mee-sow-on, Shaw-da-mon-nee, oil on board, 1870-1872. George Catlin Papers and Illustrations. mssHM 35183
Abraham Lincoln, "Death Warrant" pass issued to Lincoln's self-appointed bodyguard Ward H. Lamon, allowing him to travel while the President would be assassinated at Ford's Theatre, April 11, 1865. Ward Hill Lamon Papers. mssLN 2371
Henry David Thoreau, Walden or Life in the Woods, Draft G, Feb. and March 1854. mssHM 924
James Montresor, Plan of the Narrows, approximately 1757. Kashnor Collection of Early American Maps. mss HM 15452
Group portrait of the petit jury impaneled for the Jefferson Davis treason trial, 1867. photOV 11470
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, autograph manuscript, p. 71, 1771-1789. mssHM 9999
Flags of the nations which participate in the Centennial exhibition of the United States in 1876, printed textile, 1876. The Jay T. Last Collection of Graphic Arts and Social History. priJLC FAIR 001760
John Adams, letter to John Quincy Adams, in which the father advises his nine-year-old son that when men of "great Talents" depart "from the Paths of Honour, Truth and Virtue," they always bring about "Miseries, Dangers and Distresses," April 8, 1777. The Shapiro Collection.
Ronald Reagan with Y. C. Hong et al., Los Angeles, 1966. Hong Family Papers. mssHong family photos box 4 folder 21 (5)
Susan B. Anthony account book, April 17, 1858-July 27, 1860. MssHM 83108
Thomas Jefferson, Estimate of bricks required for household offices at Monticello, with floor plans..., Aug. 2, 1771. Thomas Jefferson Collection. HM 9365
