HISTORICAL RESEARCH GUIDE

Researching the People and Events Associated with the Building

Once you have compiled information on the site and building, you will have an easier time finding out the chain of occupancy and ownership of the property, as well as events that may have occurred there.

Deeds

Office of the County Clerk Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder
Land Records Division 12400 E. Imperial Hwy.
201 N. Figueroa St. Room 730 Norwalk, CA 90650
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(800) 815-2666
(213) 977-6014

The Land Records Division keeps records of grant deeds, which document transfer of ownership of a piece of property. Easily accessible at the County Clerk’s office is information about the current owner of a piece of property. By accessing this information, you can begin to track the history of ownership of your property by pulling previous deeds on the property. A deed names both a grantor, and a grantee. A grantor is the person selling the property. A grantee is the person purchasing or receiving the property. Looking at the most recent deed available on the property, you can identify the grantor to the current owner. At some point, this grantor was the grantee of the property. Locate the deed on which this person is listed as the grantee. By following this process, you can gain a complete history of the ownership of your property.

When tracing deeds chronologically, you may encounter gaps due to foreclosure, tax sales, or other problems.

To obtain deeds:

• Visit the office of the Land Records Division.
• Provide the staff member with either the property address, the Assessor’s Identification Number, or the legal description.
• The staff member will pull up an index of deeds available on your property. Identify those deeds that will be useful, and the staff member will pull the deeds. Deeds at the downtown records office are available from 1945, and are considered unofficial. Official deeds, and those predating 1945 can be found at the Norwalk office.
• There is no public microfilm reader available at the office. Those deeds that you request from the index will be printed for viewing at $1.10 for the first page of each document, and $.10 for each additional page.

Once you have traced the ownership of your property comes the task of determining whether the previous owners were of any importance within the Los Angeles community.

Historical and Biographical Research

Los Angeles Central Library
History Department
630 W. Fifth St.
Los Angeles, CA 90071
(213) 228-7400

Once you have compiled a chronology of ownership for your property, there are many resources available for biographical and historical research on the previous owners. This information is important in assessing the historic or cultural value of your property.

The Central Library contains a variety of useful research sources. Resources for biographical research are extensive, as you can reference city directories, newspaper archives, vital records, or books such as “Who’s Who” which give brief biographies of Los Angeles citizens.

Here is a list of resources available in the History/Genealogy Department at the Central Library:

• “Who’s Who” books
• Telephone Directories (dating back to 1900)
• City Directories (in book and microfilm formats)
• Los Angeles Times Historical Archive
• Photograph Collection
• Genealogy Collection
• Census Records from 1790
• Family Histories
• Heraldry and Coats of Arms
• Immigration Records and passenger arrival lists for New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. The library has records of passenger lists for San Pedro/Wilmington/ Los Angeles for 1907-1948.
• All available naturalization records for the U.S. District Court for southern California
• Local histories including cemetery records, probate records, and town records
• Military records - The department owns substantially complete rosters of soldiers who served in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. In addition, there are several hundred unit histories of military units from World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam.
• Name books - There are approximately 600 books on names, their derivation and meaning. There is no master index and many titles are in other languages.
• Newspapers – The library owns on microfilm all of the Los Angeles Times from 1881, the complete Herald Examiner, the New York Times from 1851, the Times of London from 1785, the San Francisco Chronicle from 1869, and the Chicago Tribune from 1849-1998.

Searching for information on an individual can be time consuming and at times return few results. The above is only a listing of what is available at the Central Library. There are many additional resources throughout the city.

Vital Records

Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder
12400 E. Imperial Hwy.
Norwalk, CA 90650
(800) 815-2666
http://regrec.co.la.ca.us

Birth, death, and marriage records for Los Angeles County are available through the county registrar’s office. Birth records are available from 1866, death records are available from 1877, and marriage licenses from 1852.

The county registrar-recorder’s process for requesting these records is somewhat complicated and expensive. It is up to the researcher to decide whether or not he or she feels that the information gained will be valuable in determining the property’s significance. Detailed information on requesting these records can be found at the registrar-recorder’s website.

Requests for unofficial records can be made by mail or in person. An in-person request requires a valid photo I.D., and can only be fulfilled same-day if the birth occurred after 1964. Births occurring before 1964 will be mailed within 15 working days.

To request records by mail, you must submit a written request containing the person’s name, date of birth (if known) or range of years to be checked, number of copies needed, and relationship to the person whose record you are requesting. Because of the likelihood that you are not related to the person whose record you are requesting, simply state no relation. A relationship is only required if you are requesting a certified official copy of the record. The application can be found on the registrar-recorder’s website. You must also submit a notarized certificate of identity, which can also be found on the website.

Historical Los Angeles Times Archive

Los Angeles Public Library Website
www.lapl.org

The Los Angeles Public Library’s newspaper archives are magnificent resources for the historic researcher.

The Los Angeles Times Historical Archive is available online to anyone with a library card. While the format is scanned newspaper articles, it is nonetheless easy to search by keyword.

To search the archive:

• Visit the mainpage of the Los Angeles Public Library’s Website.
• Click on “Databases.”
• Type in your library card number and ZIP code.
• An alphabetical listing of available databases will be displayed. Locate and click on “Research Library (Proquest).”
• On the drop down menu titled “Database,” click on “News –The Historical Los Angeles Times.”
• Perform your search. In order to view the articles, you must have installed Adobe Acrobat Reader. Which is available free of charge at www.adobe.com.

Pershing Square
Downtown Los AngelesPershing Square is the oldest public park in Los Angeles. Its history extends back two hundred years when it was a vacant lot known as block number 15. In 1866, an ordinance was signed declaring the park "...a public square for the use and benefit of the citizens of the common." Over the last century the park has undergone numerous changes including the addition of underground parking in the 1950s. In the 1990s, the park was significantly remodeled by a design team led by architect Ricardo Legoretta and landscape architect Laurie Olin.

Photo courtesy of California Historical Society / Ticor Title Insurance