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…

Business records of the Santa Monica Land & Water Company incorporated in 1897 by Sen. John P. Jones and Arcadia de Bandini de Baker. SML&WCo sub-divided and developed about 50,000 acres in West Los Angeles including Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, and Bel Air. The Archives includes photos, ephemera, legal records, and correspondence from the early 1900s through the 1970s.…

Cross-section of Los Angeles' urban population, immigration and events including portraits of creative pofessionals, entrepreneurs, scientists, political and religious leaders,.

SPARC’s MREC is one of the country’s largest repositories of information about murals and other forms of public art. SPARC produces, exhibits, and preserves public art works and is particularly committed to enhancing the visibility of work which reflects the lives and concerns of American’s diverse ethnic populations, women, working people, youth and elderly. We have an extensive collection of…

The SCGS Library holds nearly 40,000 volumes, with a relatively small portion of the material related to LA. We have published indices to cemetery records, vital (birth, death and marriage) records, and immigration and naturalization. We provide free access to some data on our website. The Society is in the midst of a project to recreate the 1890 Census for Los Angeles County. The census records…