Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Visual Materials
Visual Materials
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Image not available
Visual Materials
The collection consists of 70 panoramic negatives, 3207 copy prints, and corresponding negatives and interpositives, covering the years 1924-1948. The images depict specific places, businesses, and commercial activity in both central and southern California, with the emphasis on Los Angeles County. The collection provides a broad overview of the commercial landscape of the area during the first half of the twentieth century. In addition, there is also a tape measure produced by the studio in the 1950s. The 70 panoramic negatives depict undeveloped and newly developed areas of Los Angeles, including Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, and Alhambra, views of Lido Isle in Newport, and Republic Studios in Studio City. There are also images of Los Angeles industries, including film and automotive, as well as specific locations, such as the Hollywood Bowl, and events, such as swimming events during the 1932 Olympics. The first part of the collection of copy prints depicts specific towns, businesses, street scenes and landscapes in central and southern California, specifically El Dorado, Inyo, and Nevada Counties, Lake Tahoe, Kern, Tulare, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Imperial Counties, Mexico, and Los Angeles County. The bulk of these images depict Ventura, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Los Angeles Counties. The Ventura County images concentrate on Port Hueneme. The Orange County images depict Fullerton, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Laguna Beach, Capistrano Beach, Balboa and Newport Beach, and Lido Isle. In Riverside County, the images depict Lake Elsinore, Perris, Corona, the Sherman Institute, Riverside, Norco, Palm Springs, San Jacinto, Hemet, and a number of hot springs. The San Bernardino images depict Twentynine Palms, Fontana, Chino, Ontario, San Bernardino, Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead. In San Diego County, images depict Mount Helix, La Mesa, El Cajon, Alpine, Pine Valley, Descanso, Lakeside, Ramona, Escondido, Vista, Rancho San Luis Rey, Bonsall, Tahiti Beach, Del Mar, Solana Beach, La Jolla, Casa de Manana, and the San Diego Fairgrounds (Balboa Park). Los Angeles County images form the bulk of the second section. Images of the San Gabriel Valley and nearby areas depict Flintridge, Altadena, Monrovia, Glendora, Azusa, East Los Angeles, Montebello, Whittier, the Pio Pico Adobe, Santa Fe Springs, Downey, Norwalk, Bellflower, El Monte, Baldwin Park, Covina, the Pomona Fairgrounds, San Marino, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, Alhambra, El Sereno, San Gabriel, Monterey Park, Arcadia, and Santa Anita. Images of Los Angeles beach communities include Long Beach, San Pedro and Fish Harbor, Palos Verdes and Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Playa del Rey, Venice, Santa Monica and coastal areas. The collection also depicts West Los Angeles, specifically Westwood and the University of California, Los Angeles, Bel Air, and Brentwood. Central, East and South Los Angeles are represented by images of Hollywood, Los Feliz, Culver City, Leimert Park, Baldwin Hills, Inglewood, View Park, Hawthorne, Westchester, and Gardena. The San Fernando Valley images depict Woodland Hills, Encino, Sherman Oaks, North Hollywood, and Studio City. Also present in the collection are images of specific locations within Los Angeles proper (such as the Los Angeles riverbed, the Farmer's Market and Gilmore Stadium, Olvera Street, Los Angeles theaters, hospitals and businesses, City Hall, the Los Angeles Public Library, the Los Angeles Times Building under construction, Memorial Coliseum and the Olympic pool, and the Pan-Pacific Auditorium). Of particular note are the series of photographs that depict new housing tracts (Midwick View Estates, Rolling Knolls, Rolling Hills Estates, Beverly Wood), Wilshire Boulevard from Westlake to Western Avenues, the business district around La Brea Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard, and the construction of the Federal Building and Post Office in central Los Angeles. The collection also contains images arranged by subject. These include photographs of advertising (signs, billboards and displays); radio and television communications; clubs; people (including Herbert Hoover, J.W. Robinson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Frank Shaw, Archibald Joseph Cronin, and Bing Crosby); transportation (including Los Angeles Railway cars and Union Station); industries (food processing, fruits, water, rubber, steel, quarries, entertainment, and miscellaneous); construction (dams and aqueducts, housing); recreation; circuses; police and fire; cemeteries, charities and relief; religion; photography and photographers; World War II effort; medical; ranches; automobiles; trucks; buses; motorcycles; automobile dealerships and used car lots; racing cars; races; National Auto School; and aviation. Of particular note are the series of photographs depicting tire production by Goodyear; the interior of the Bethlehem Steel Plant; the construction of the Metropolitan aqueduct and Parker Dam; the construction of Boulder (now Hoover) Dam; assembly lines in Ford, Plymouth, Studebaker, and Willys-Knight plants; photographs of Amelia Earhart, Howard Hughes, and other aviators; images of the Douglas Aircraft plant; Timm Aircraft plastic plane construction; and images of Vultee Aircraft plants.
photCL Whitt
Visual Materials
A tank proceeds down South Broadway in downtown Los Angeles as part of the Freedom Parade. Two men in uniform are sitting in the open top hatch of the tank and two more are visible through opened drivers' hatches. The sides of the streets are lined with crowds and signs announce "The Four Freedoms War Bond Show", presented by Bullock's on February 22nd.
photCL Whitt 2268 ; Whitt neg. 1388
Visual Materials
A view of the entrance to the RKO Theater located at 801 South Hill, at the corner of Hill and 8th, in Los Angeles. Large cardboard "8"s are suspended from the ceiling and signs announce 8 RKO vaudeville acts. A ticket office is on the far right.
photCL Whitt 1144 ; Whitt neg. 0479
Visual Materials
A view of the lobby mezzanine of the Jonathan Club at 545 South Figueroa in Los Angeles. The floor is covered in long oriental rugs and the capitals of the columns and the ceiling are ornately decorated. Chairs, desks, and lamps line both sides of the mezzanine, which overlooks the lobby on the right.
photCL Whitt 1467 ; Whitt neg. 1578