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Victoria Bernal

Victoria Bernal

With over 120 years of family history in Los Angeles, Victoria Bernal is a chronicler who follows in her mother's footsteps documenting Southern California's past. In 2009, she and her mother started the hugely popular @lahistory Twitter feed, which draws attention to L.A.'s rich history on a daily basis.

Victoria Bernal
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A black and white photo of Edward Roybal, a middle-aged man in a full suit, sitting behind a large office desk full of stacks of papers. Roybal holds a landline phone up to his ear. Behind him are various plaques, framed documents and other accolades. The U.S. flag stands on the left and the California state flag stand on the right.
Edward Roybal served his constituents as California's first Latino in Congress for 30 years, yet it was his work as a Los Angeles City Councilman that not only laid the foundation for his national career but also speaks to a number of issues affecting Angelenos today.
A painted postcard of a field of red poinsettia flowers scattered at the foot of a hill slope. A rectangular building can be seen at the top of the hill. The painting is framed by a yellowing cream color with, "779 Poinsettia Field, Hollywood, Calif." written on the top border.
While poinsettias had already been available at nurseries across the U.S. and Los Angeles, it was the Ecke family who transformed the poinsettia market from selling cut flowers as bouquets to selling them as indoor potted plants for Christmas.
A black and white photo of a clocktower jutting out of a building with ornate, Art Deco-style architectural features. At the foot of the building is a marquee board, displaying various titles. The building is on a busy downtown city street, surrounded by other towering buildings. On the street, vintage carriages zoom on the street and pedestrians walk along the sidewalk.
In the mid-1800s, public clocks served as type of civic authority as they centralized the town's time while introducing the idea of organizing days around the hours and minutes of clock time.
A library hall is full of various table booths set up with photographs propped up on easels and displayed on screens. Visitors walk through the aisles. Above, ornate vintage lights hang from the ceiling.
Every year, Southern California museums, libraries and archives come together at the annual Archives Bazaar to exhibit historic items and artifacts. Here are 8 collections and historical organizations whose archives tell a fascinating story of L.A.
A wide black and white photo of city streets, the main focus of the photo being a multi-story office building with signage across the roof that reads, "Mobiloil" and "Mobilgas."
About 100 years ago, Los Angeles produced about 20% of the world's oil. These downtown buildings are part of the larger story of how the oil industry significantly transformed Los Angeles' built environment.
A black and white photo of young men lined up, side-by-side in front of a table. On the other side of the table, three people — two older men and an older woman — are seated.
Not much can be found in the public landscape that documents the Zoot Suit riots set off by the discovery of the body of José Gallardo Diaź near Sleepy Lagoon.
In this photo dated January 6, 1982, Vin Scully in front of a podium with the Dodgers logo behind him.
Here are photos, videos and ephemera from Southern California archives to add to the collective celebration of one of the best sportscasters in history.
An elder Japanese American man points at a iPad being held by another woman off-screen. On the iPad screen is a view of the front facing camera with 3D images of two Japanese Americans conversing next to suitcases overlaid.
A number of Los Angeles history-minded institutions are exploring the use of new technologies like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to reconstruct Southern California’s past. Here are projects that make the past feel present through the use of AR and VR.
Photographed on November 9, 1932, this view of Sixth Street Viaduct was taken the west bank of the Los Angeles River.
The Sixth Street Viaduct may have started life as a functional overpass on the Los Angeles River, but in the decades since, it has grown into a symbolic gateway. Here are some historic photos of the Sixth Street Viaduct.
LA County Fair (1948), from CPP Archive
The Los Angeles County Fair turns 100 this year. Considering all the ways the fair has entertained, informed and marketed to Angelenos over the past 100 years, here is a glimpse of a few rare attractions that have lit up local imaginations over the last century.
Red trolley cars are parked outside of the North Hollywood depot, a yellow paneled building with dark brown trim and a large sign across the roof that reads "Southern Pacific - Pacific Electric Station." Pedestrians approach the depot on the sidewalk.
Though the last of Los Angeles' famed Red Cars officially retired in 1961, there is still so much Pacific Electric history that can be found in the Southern California landscape — in expected and unexpected places.
A composite photo of Charlotta Bass, left, and Miriam Matthews, right
Throughout the last century, two prominent African American women — Charlotta Bass and Miriam Matthews — consistently shone a light on the city's early African heritage, raising awareness of the Black heritage of the city's first settlers.
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