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…

The collection consists of records and artifacts pertaining to the history of The Jonathan Club, a social club founded in Los Angeles in 1896 and currently serving 4,000 members. Included are thousands of photographs of members and member events, a full run of the Jonathan Magazine (1931-present), some early rosters and registers of Club activities, and realia from various club headquarters and…

The Topanga Historical Society (THS) was organized in 1974 by a group of dedicated community leaders who recognized the urgent need to collect and preserve records of Topanga’s unique history and to make them available to future generations. The Society maintains an Archive Center and presents quarterly local history programs.

Images of Los Angeles and its communities are preserved in the collections of the California Museum of Photography. In the immense archive of vintage stereographic negatives and prints known as the Keystone-Mast Collection are views taken between 1885 and 1960 of places, people, landmarks, industries, agriculture, and historical events in the Los Angeles region. The University Print Collection…

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…