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…

The California Social Welfare Archives (CSWA) was organized in 1979 to collect materials that portray the development of social welfare in Southern California. Our goal is to ensure that pertinent knowledge, information and documents of historical significance are acquired, preserved, and made accessible for contemporary researchers and policy makers and for future generations. The CSWA also…

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…

The Water Resources Center Archives (WRCA) is a unique library that collects archival materials on all aspects of water resources in California and the West. WRCA manages over 125 collections with several significant collections that pertain to water development in southern California. These collections include Franks Adams, Harry F. Blaney, John D. Galloway, Walter L. Huber, Oman J. Lillevang,…

Collection of acrical materials from many of the early and present schools of nursing in Southern California with emphasis on those in and around Los Angeles dating from 1853 to currency.