California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960

Title Insurance and Trust and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection 1860-1960

Exterior view of Los Angeles Natural History Museum (formerly Los Angeles County Historical and Art Museum?), [s.d.]

(USC DC Image)

Exterior view of Los Angeles Natural History Museum (formerly Los Angeles County Historical and Art Museum?), [s.d.]

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Photograph of an exterior view of Los Angeles Natural History Museum (formerly Los Angeles County Historical and Art Museum?), [s.d.]. A flight of concrete stairs leads to the large arches that form the portico entrance. Several types of bricks and many different brick patterns form the walls of this three-story building. Above the entrance is a multicurved parapet decorated with fancy ornamental moldings and patterns. The sculpture of an eagle is perched at the tip of the gable. Two dome turrets flank the large dome roof in the center.; "Exposition Park, originally named Agricultural Park, was developed in 1876 as a showground for agricultural and horticultural fairs. The property became state land in 1880, the same year USC was founded, but during the 1890s, it fell into private hands, victim of a corrupt state legislature in league with local opportunists. Its character swiftly deteriorated, and it became a favorite haunt of the city's riffraff. William M. Bowen, an attorney and adjunct professor of law at USC, was appalled at the gambling and debauchery he witnessed beyond the park's gate, and late in the decade he spearheaded a successful campaign to recover the tract on behalf of the people of California. With the support of fellow civic leaders such as USC President George Finley Bovard, Bowen garnered the commitments of city, state and county to develop the land as a public educational, cultural and recreational center. On November 6, 1913, the day after William Mulholland opened the Owens River aqueduct, Exposition Park was formally dedicated, home to a state Exposition Building and the county Museum of History, Science and Art, and slated to gain a National Guard Armory." -- unknown author.; "For most of this century, California has had a museum designed to showcase the ways in which science and technology affect the lives of its residents. The first State Exposition Building opened in 1909, housing simple displays of natural resources and industrial products from across the state. After World War II, as technology-based businesses began to grow, the building was remodeled to show visitors the role of science and technology in everyday life. To better describe this new objective, it was renamed the California Museum of Science and Industry in 1951." -- unknown author.

Asset Metadata

Title Exterior view of Los Angeles Natural History Museum (formerly Los Angeles County Historical and Art Museum?), [s.d.]

Subject Los Angeles -- Architecture -- Public Buildings -- Museums (file heading), Los Angeles County Historical and Art Museum (subject), museum buildings (adlf), Museums (lcsh)

Tags OAI-PMH Harvest

Place California (states), Exposition Park (roadway), Los Angeles (city or populated place), Los Angeles (counties), USA (countries)

Type images

Format 1 photograph : glass photonegative, b&w ; 21 x 26 cm. (aacr2), glass plate negatives (format), photographs (aat)

Source California Historical Society (contributing entity), California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960 (collection), Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, 1860-1960 (subcollection)

Creator C.C. Pierce & Co. (photographer)

Publisher University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Repository Email specol@lib.usc.edu

Repository Name USC Libraries Special Collections

Repository Location Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189

Rights Public Domain. Please credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.

Copyright Public Domain. Please credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.

Access Conditions Send requests to address or e-mail given

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/chs-m1909

Identifier 5704 (accession number), CHS-5704 (call number), CHS-5704 (filename), chs-m265 (legacy collection record id), chs-c65-2761 (legacy record id), chs-m1909 (legacy record id), USC-1-1-1-1961 (legacy record id), USC (project)

IIIF ID [Document.IIIFV3ID]

DM Record ID 2761

Unique identifier UC117198

Legacy Identifier CHS-5704.tiff

Type Image

Internet Media Type image/tiff

Resolution 17.0 in × 13.6 in at 300dpi
43.1 cm × 34.5 cm at 300dpi

Inherited Values

Title Title Insurance and Trust and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection 1860-1960

Description The nearly 15,000 unique photographs of this collection contain the work of C.C. Pierce which cover the Los Angeles region city, street and architectural views, California Missions, Southwestern Native Americans, and turn-of-century Nevada, Arizona, and California. Pierce, active from 1886 to 1940, was one of the leading photographers of his day and amassed a collection of 15,000 images, including his own and those bought and copied from his contemporaries, George Wharton James and Charles Puck. The James collection contains over 2,000 images of portraits, customs, ceremonies, arts, and games of various groups of Southwestern Native Americans.

Date Created 1860/1960

Linked assets

Title Insurance and Trust and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection 1860-1960

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