Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Visual Materials
View of a wharf at San Pedro Harbor showing the Southern Pacific Railroad depot buildings and people standing on the dock, with ships in the background.
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Visual Materials
Image of a panorama of Avalon Bay with boats in the water and a steamer ship docked at the pier on Santa Catalina Island, California. The Peter Gano House, also known as the Holly Hill house, is on a hill above the bay at right, and the Sugarloaf Point rock formations are visible at far left.
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Visual Materials
Panoramic view of Morro Rock and sand dunes and plants in Morro Bay, California. A man is standing on a dune in the distance.
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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.
Visual Materials
Landscape view of the northern section of Ventura, California, as seen from the hills around Grant Park, looking out over buildings, streets, with North Ventura Avenue running parallel in the foreground, mountains, and the Pacific Ocean at left.
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Visual Materials
Elevated view looking down North Main Street in downtown Los Angeles, California, with horse-drawn trolleys, wagons, and carriages, in the dirt street. The Baker Block building with tower (at the corner of Main Street and Arcadia Street) is at center right, a part of the three-story Ducommon Building (at the corner of Main Street and Commercial Street) can be seen at far right). A sign for "Furniture, Carpets, Wall Paper," can be seen in the distance. A 150-foot tall electric street light, which was installed in 1882, can be seen at center right.
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