Quick Start
Selected image search engines and databases.
Please note that Artstor provides access to high resolution images acquired from Archivision that feature many Los Angeles and Southern California landmark buildings.
- Archivision (via JSTOR, formerly ARTstor)
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UCLA provides access to a several Archivision modules that feature high quality images covering architecture, urban design, archaeological sites, landscapes, gardens, and works of art. - Wikimedia CommonsPublic domain and freely-licensed images, sound, and video. Note the ability to browse by classification (topics, locations, media type, and more!) in addition to keyword searching.
Related Image Research Guides
(See below for guides to maps and cartographic resources)
Guides to Maps and Cartographic Resources at UCLA
Los Angeles and Southern California Digital Image Sources
Below is a list of digital collections that contain images related to Los Angeles and Southern California culture, history, and geography.
Also consult the "Archives and Special Collections" tab and the "UCLA Campus and Buildings" tab for additional sources.
- Calisphere This link opens in a new windowOver one million photographs, documents, letters, artwork, diaries, oral histories, films, advertisements, musical recordings, and more from the collections digitized and contributed by all ten campuses of the University of California and other important libraries, archives, and museums throughout the state.
- Images of Southern California (California Historical Society)Includes Los Angeles photographs by Anton Wagner (1932-1933)
- Maps of Los Angeles, other parts of the United States, and various places in the world.Includes digitized maps of California and more.
- UCLA Library Digital Collections This link opens in a new windowRare and unique digital materials developed by the UCLA Library to support education, research, service, and creative expression, including the AIDS Poster Collection, the Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive and more.
- UCLA PhotographyUCLA Photography specializes in Event, Sports, Product, Architectural and Portrait photography. They also house an archive of UCLA photographs dating back to the 1940's.
- UCLA Public Art CollectionImages of artwork located in public spaces across the UCLA campus (via JSTOR Images). Does not include work under the curatorial purview of the Fowler Museum, the Hammer Museum, or the Medical Center Art Collection.
Recommended Books
- Los Angeles in maps / Glen Creason ; foreword by D.J. Waldie ; with contributions by Dydia DeLyser ... [et al.].GA460.L6 C74 2010 Arts Library Reference, YRL