Research

The Lanterman House History Center and Archives is the center for historical research on La Cañada Flintridge and the greater Cañada-Crescenta Valley. The ever-expanding collection contains original documents, photographs, architectural records, scrapbooks, photo albums, newspapers and more. The History Center also maintains a register of historically and architecturally significant buildings located in La Cañada Flintridge.

The Lanterman Archives actively documents local history through the addition of oral histories to our permanent collection. See our Oral History Program for more information.

Hours:
On-site research is currently not being offered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you would like a staff member to perform basic research, free of charge, please submit a request below.

Access:
Research and use of the collection is free of charge. Fees applicable for reproduction. Staff and volunteers are happy to perform basic research. Please submit a research request below, being as specific as possible. Please note that there may be a delay of several weeks depending on the scope of the request. Let us know if your request is time-sensitive.

Highlights of the Collection:

• Local history of the Crescenta-Cañada Valley and of the City of La Cañada Flintridge (incorporated 1976).

• History of the Lanterman family, pioneer settlers of the La Cañada Valley in the 1870s, who lived in La Cañada until the family died out in 1987.

• History of Frank Lanterman's early career as a theater organist (including thousands of pieces of popular sheet music).

• History of Frank Lanterman's 28-year service (1950-1978) as a State Assemblyman and his championship of rights for the developmentally disabled and for water rights for unincorporated communities.

• History of the restoration of the Lanterman House in the 1990s.

• The Lanterman Oral History Program, 1979-present

• Records of the La Cañada Unified School District

• Photographs of pioneer Charles Pate from the Collection of the Church of the Lighted Window

• Collection of the Church of the Lighted Window

• Papers of local historian and author June Dougherty

• Bound volumes of the La Cañada Valley Sun, from 1946 onwards

• Photo morgue of the La Cañada Valley Sun, 1977-2005

• Crescenta-Cañada Valley Directories, 1943-2018 (several years missing)

• Archives of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley

• Lanterman House newsletters

Looking for more resources? Try Calisphere!