The Research Library and Archives has been collecting material relating to the history of Pasadena since 1924. The archives contains approximately 1 million historic images (including photos, negatives, postcards, stereographs) of Pasadena and surrounding areas. There are 45 cubic feet of maps and plans of the area, as well as a set of Sanborm fire insurance maps for Pasadena. There is a large…

Gregor Piatigorsky, the great master cellist of the 20th century, left a legacy of great music through his concerts, recordings, and films, and through his students. He also left a personal collection of approximately 19,000 items including photographs, music manuscripts, correspondence, concert programs, clippings, test pressings, commercial recordings, books, and ephemera. After his death…

UCSB professor David Gebhard (1927-1996) founded the Architecture and Design Collection in 1963. Today it is one of the largest architectural archives in North America with more than 1,000,000 drawings, as well as papers, photographs, scrapbooks, models, decorative objects, and furniture. The focus of the collection is the design and architecture of southern California from the late 19th through…