Students and scholars of Los Angeles history are fortunate to have a number of very large collections of photographs which give a visual documentation of the city and its history. This page highlights some of the most valuable.In addition, there are numerous specialized collections which are not listed here: costume, art, the freeway system, automobiles, aeronautics, theatre, and several very large collections concerned with the motion picture industry - including the Walt Disney Archives. Go to the photograph collections directories for information on these specialized collections.
There are also sources of photographs of Los Angeles and southern California on-line; select Photographic Images On-Line for a list.
The following are the most important collections for the study of Los Angeles:
- University Archives at USC
- This historical photographic collection is almost entirely about USC.
- Regional History Center at USC
- The Center has one of the largest photographic collections in southern
- California. View some samples from the Center's collection.
- Los Angeles Public Library
- The main branch of LAPL has a major collection of photographs.
- UCLA Department of Special Collections
- The Department has the photographic morgue of the Los Angeles Times and the Daily News.
- Henry E. Huntington Library
- HEH has an outstanding collection on southern California.
- Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History
- L.A. in the early part of this century is emphasized.
- Southwest Museum
- Southwest Indians are the focus of the collection.