This is the major strength of the Archives. There are an estimated one million images (many in negative format only) of Pasadena and surrounding areas. Individual items are catalogued by subject; photo albums are shelved and described separately. Important early Pasadena photographers, active during the 1880s and 1890s, are particularly well represented. In addition to photograph albums, stereographs, and postcards, the collection contains:
Archival Collections
Pasadena Star-News Photo Collection
This collection of several thousand photos was the Star-News’ photo morgue. The majority of the photos date from the 1970s through 1990s, although there are many early Rose Parade and architectural photos. The collection is organized by subject and person.
Main Photo Collection
This collection of loose photographs has tens of thousands of images, with many early views of Pasadena places and people. It is organized by subject, not by date.
J. Allen Hawkins Photo Collection
This is the main body of work of local photographer J. Allen Hawkins who worked in Pasadena from the 1920s through the 1970s. The collection consists of well over 300,000 images and is organized chronologically.
Pasadena City Schools Negatives Collection
Includes several hundred images, primarily from the 1950s through the 1970s, believed to have been taken for public relations brochures.
Flag Photo Collection
Consists of approximately 2,000 film and glass negatives taken by Emil P. Groetzinger and his sons, local photographers who operated the Flag Studio from 1909 to 1940.
The Great History Freeze
Learn about how we are preserving some of these collections with the Great History Freeze
Pasadena Digital History Collaboration
View more than 50,000 records from the collections of PMH, the Pasadena Public Library, and Pasadena City College, Shatford Library, and more!
