Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Visual Materials
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Visual Materials
The Cliff House on the shoreline at San Francisco, showing two women in the foreground.
photCL SCE 01 - 00193
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Visual Materials
Contents: Cliff House & Seal Rock, S.F. cabinet photograph (published by A.J. McDonald) annotation on verso,"(was there in 1893)" [Olive Percival handwriting]; "San Francisco 1st Cliff House and Seal Rocks" (Hardy 1945); "The Second Cliff House, after 1893" on verso, "C.J. Colley-architect";"San Francisco 2nd Cliff House from the land, after 1893" (Hardy 1945); San Francisco (reproduction of chromolithograph) original credit to Frank Marryat (1826-1855) published in London later titled "Eager Gold Hunters Arriving in the City Early in 1851."
photPF 3883-3887
Visual Materials
Image of an unidentified man on the beach with the Cliff House restaurant and Golden Gate park in the distance in San Francisco, California.
photCL_555_05_126
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Visual Materials
This disbound photo album holds photographs of Missions Santa Barbara, San Gabriel, and San Juan Capistrano; Pasadena and its landmarks, including the Raymond Hotel and the Hotel Green; the Hotel Del Monte in Monterey; Seal Rock; the Pacific Ocean shore near Monterey; the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego; Riverside; Cliff House, Fort Point, and the Golden Gate Strait in San Francisco; and Lick Observatory near Mount Hamilton. Of the 33 photographs, 8 were taken by C.W.J. Johnson, 6 were taken by F.H. Maude, 4 were taken by J.E. Slocum, and 2 were taken by C.B. Waite.
photCL 93
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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.
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Visual Materials
These lantern slides depict urban, agricultural, and nature scenes of California in the 1870s. The slides acted as a visual accompaniment to real estate developer Charles Victor Hall's traveling lecture promoting California's resources and benefits, aimed to encourage New Englanders and Europeans to relocate to California. This collection is significant in its images of Native Americans in California, mainly in the Yosemite area, and views of prospecting and mining. The majority of the lantern slides depict scenes from northern California, including Yosemite National Park and San Francisco. Some southern California views are also shown, including San Diego and Los Angeles County. Other slides of interest are views of the California ranches of F.P.F. Temple, Ellwood Cooper, F.D. Bacon, Maria Sepulveda, L.J. Rose (and family), and H.H. Moore. Portraits of General John C. Fremont and actress Maude Granger are also featured in the collection. In addition to the lantern slides, three copy negatives depicting the logging industry are also included. The originals are not in this collection. A printing plate with Hall's portrait is also included in this collection. The images were most likely taken by several different photographers, including Carleton Watkins, Eadweard Muybridge, and Bradley & Rulofson.
photCL 521
photCL 555