Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Rare Books
Soldiers and soldiers' homes
Image not available
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Image not available
Visual Materials
This is a collection primarily of negatives and photographic prints depicting the growth of Santa Monica and Los Angeles, California, from 1860s to 1980s. Many views are cityscapes or street views, showing buildings, storefronts, homes and roads, and documenting the use of railroads, trolleys, streetcars, and automobiles. There are many card photographs by early professional photographers, and also a number of snapshots made by amateurs, some in personal photo albums. The collection's scope also includes early views of many other communities in Southern California (and a few in other states); the beginnings of aviation in Santa Monica, including the first Douglas Aircraft Company buildings; a photo album of residents in Topanga Canyon, ca. 1913; automobile racing in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, 1920s; maritime views; a photo album of U.S. troops in France during World War I; a 1949 real estate development in Apple Valley, California, and others. Besides photographs, a portion of the collection consists of scarce publications and historical ephemera, primarily related to Santa Monica and Los Angeles, including brochures, advertising cards, menus, event programs and other materials. Highlights of the Santa Monica images are aerial views of the buildings along the coast and pier (1920s); several views of the Arcadia Hotel (1880s); the Long Wharf and adjoining railroad and train depot; the first bath houses on the beach; the beach club culture of the 1920s and 1930s; the amusement piers of Santa Monica, Ocean Park and Venice; and the beginnings of the Douglas Aircraft Company. There is a large set of promotional photographs made late 1920s-1930s by Powell Press Service depicting people enjoying Santa Monica's beaches, clubs and outdoor recreation. An important subset within the collection is 407 negatives made ca. 1890 - 1908 by Los Angeles historian and amateur photographer George W. Hazard (1842-1914). Hazard travelled around Los Angeles and vicinity photographing the adobes, houses, streets and storefronts that told the early history of the city. Many of Hazard's negatives have handwritten identifications, naming streets, former homeowners, ranchos, and other historical details. There are a large number of cabinet cards and other card-mounted prints and stereographs. There are 1,264 stereograph prints, highlighted by the works of photographic pioneers William M. Godfrey, Francis Parker, Hayward & Muzzall, and Carleton Watkins. Other formats represented are: glass and film negatives; panoramic prints; 7 photograph albums, photographic postcards, 20th-century color prints and transparencies; and a small number of tintypes, cyanotypes and a set of chromolithographs.
photCL 555
Visual Materials
Image of a Union soldier sleeping with his bayonet by a campfire in a military camp during the American Civil War dreaming of reunion with his family; soldiers, cannons, tents and American flag in background.
priJLC_MIL_000802
Visual Materials
Image of a Union soldier sleeping with his bayonet by a campfire in a military camp during the American Civil War dreaming of reunion with his family; soldiers, cannons, tents and American flag in background; a decorative frame with Union shields and stars surrounds image.
priJLC_MIL_000945
Image not available
Visual Materials
The collection consists of 3396 black and white photographs (many with corresponding original and copy negatives), 116 unprinted glass plate negatives, memos, correspondence, press releases, and notes related to the Pacific Electric Railway, ca. 1870s-1950s. The collection provides a comprehensive overview of the routes and areas served by the Railway during the years of its operation, and thus a picture of the growth of Southern California during the first half of the twentieth century. The images include views of landscape along, and towns served by, the Pacific Electric routes, including Central Los Angeles; Pacific Electric track and stations; Pacific Electric advertising, publicity, and public relations photographs; Los Angeles and surrounding area parks; Pacific Electric employees and employee activities; construction of Pacific Electric facilities, such as the Hollywood subway, the 6th and Main Street terminal, and the Subway Terminal Building; and Pacific Electric trolley cars and buses.
photCL 91
Image not available
Visual Materials
The collection consists of 3396 black and white photographs (many with corresponding original and copy negatives), 116 unprinted glass plate negatives, memos, correspondence, press releases, and notes related to the Pacific Electric Railway, ca. 1870s-1950s. The collection provides a comprehensive overview of the routes and areas served by the Railway during the years of its operation, and thus a picture of the growth of Southern California during the first half of the twentieth century. The images include views of landscape along, and towns served by, the Pacific Electric routes, including Central Los Angeles; Pacific Electric track and stations; Pacific Electric advertising, publicity, and public relations photographs; Los Angeles and surrounding area parks; Pacific Electric employees and employee activities; construction of Pacific Electric facilities, such as the Hollywood subway, the 6th and Main Street terminal, and the Subway Terminal Building; and Pacific Electric trolley cars and buses.
photCL 91