Within the City of Pasadena, the Design and Historic Preservation Section reviews plans for construction and building alterations affecting historic properties, conducts historic building surveys, carries out environmental reviews in compliance with state and federal laws regarding the preservation of historic resources, designates properties as landmarks and landmark districts, and directs…

The Santa Monica Historical Society was founded in 1975 as part of the city’s centennial celebration with the mission of collecting and preserving the history, art and culture of the Santa Monica Bay Area. In 1988, a Museum was established to house the Society’s growing collections of artifacts, documents, rare books, newspapers, textiles, artwork, and photographic images. Currently, the Museum’s…

The Sierra Madre Historical Archives collects, preserves, and provides access to a variety of materials that tell the Sierra Madre story: photographs, slides, postcards, scrapbooks, city directories, maps, letters, periodicals, posters, works of art, sound recordings, moving images, and ephemera. The archives collection includes the Sierra Madre Oral History Project in which residents describe…

Collections of the organization document the history of the Sisters in Los Angeles and California from 1926-present. Particular emphasis is given to Hungarian immigrant experience and social services with Hispanic neighborhoods. Archives also include records which reflect the activities of the Social Service Auxiliary and Juniors of Social Service.

The Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research primarily documents and preserves the history of twentieth-century radicalism and social change through progressive movements in the greater Los Angeles area. The materials held by the library relate to the labor, peace, social justice, civil rights, women’s, gay and lesbian, and various other grassroots movements.

Collection Description: Virginia Robinson Gardens, built in 1911, was the first estate in Beverly Hills. Today, it is listed on the national registry of historic sites. Social doyenne, art collector and philanthropist Mrs. Virginia Robinson resided in the house for thirty years and, before her death in 1977, she gave it to Los Angeles County for the public to enjoy. This historic estate, which…