J. Allen Hawkins Studio Collection of Negatives

The J. Allen Hawkins Studio Collection of Negatives consists of 3027 negatives and 3607 prints (both vintage prints and copy prints), 1924-1972, that depict commercial sites, residences, and other subjects in and around Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. The images provide a look at the commercial, residential, social, and cultural development of Pasadena and surrounding areas during the middle years of the twentieth century. The collection also provides, through its breadth and depth of subject matter, an example of the career activities of a commercial photographer in Southern California in the early years of the twentieth century. Some of the early photographs may be attributable to Harold A. Parker.

While the collection does concentrate on Pasadena, other communities are included. These are Alhambra, Altadena, Compton, El Monte, Glendale, Highland Park, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Monrovia, Ontario, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, and Van Nuys. In addition, the collection contains a few images of Mount Baldy, Kern County, and San Jacinto Peak; these are likely by Harold A. Parker.

The collection's commercial images include views of vehicles (automobiles, trucks, buses, and travel trailers), automobile dealerships and automotive service businesses; mortuaries and funeral homes; department stores; small retail businesses; dairies; business districts (with an emphasis on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena); banks; movie theaters; grocery stores (with an emphasis on Market Basket stores); window displays; machinery and appliances (including radios, television sets, and washing machines); aerial views of Pasadena; aerial views of Los Angeles International Airport; and views of construction.

The collection's residential images include single family homes, apartment buildings, and views of real estate developments. Of particular interest are the many views of the Baldwin M. Baldwin residence; architectural renderings by Marston and Maybury, Foss Designing and Building Company, and Garrett Van Pelt; and gardens by Myron Hunt.

The collection's images of the area's social life include views of theaters and actors in performance (including the Pasadena Community Players, the Shakespeare Club, and the Pasadena Playhouse); images of the Rose Bowl (including aerial views, graduation ceremonies, and midget car races featuring Sam Hanks); numerous churches; the Maryland, Raymond, Green, Huntington, and Vista del Arroyo Hotels; football and baseball players (including members of the Army and Navy football teams and the Chicago White Sox); recreation (including horseback riding in the Arroyo Seco and lawn bowling in Central Park); nightclubs, restaurants, cafes, and ice cream parlors; community groups (including the Pasadena Women's Club, VFW Poppy Girls, and the Pasadena Boys Club); the Huntington Library; country clubs and golf courses (including miniature golf); radio broadcasts; and images taken on VJ Day, 1945.

Images of public buildings and social services include numerous views of Pasadena City Hall; the Pasadena Central Library; the area's hospitals (with an emphasis on Huntington Memorial Hospital and its services); and schools and schoolchildren.

The collection also contains many portraits, both formal and informal. Notable are the portraits of Albert Einstein; Governor James Rolph; and Richard and Pat Nixon. The latter were taken at Nixon's 1962 gubernatorial campaign headquarters in Pasadena.