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RKO Radio Pictures Studio records
in 1928, RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. was a major motion picture studio for more than 27 years and produced over 700 films. Pictured here is the dialogue continuity script for The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), which won seven Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score. The full collection includes scripts from other popular films like King Kong (1933), Little Women (1933) and Citizen Kane (1941), as well as production information files, music scores and arrangements, script synopses and reader’s reports, story submission cards, payroll records and books.
Mayor Tom Bradley administrative papers
Mayor Tom Bradley’s papers contain records of Bradley’s administrative activities during his five-term tenure as Los Angeles Mayor (1973–1993), including personal correspondence and drawings from Angelenos, such as this 1983 sketch by Franklin Burke and a copy of the thank you letter to Burke from Mayor Bradley himself. The full collection includes materials related to events and issues in L.A., ranging from transportation and education to the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the 1984 Olympic Games.
Richard and Dion Neutra papers
One of the most influential architects of the 20th century, Richard Neutra (1892–1970) immigrated to the U.S. in the 1920s to work with architect Frank Lloyd Wright, subsequently moving to Los Angeles in 1925. Over his career, Neutra designed hundreds of houses, schools and civic buildings both locally and internationally. Unfortunately, several of Neutra’s Los Angeles projects were lost during the 2025 fires, but the Brown House in Malibu (right) was spared. In addition to photographs, drawings and architectural blueprints, the collection contains Neutra’s personal and professional correspondence, travel records, audio recordings and more.
Japanese American Research Project (Yuji Ichioka) collection of material about Japanese in the United States
This project was initiated by the Japanese American Citizens League in 1960 to collect materials related to the history of Japanese and Japanese Americans in the U.S. Spanning 1893 to 1973, the collection includes artwork, personal papers, questionnaires, newspapers and other records. Among the items are materials regarding incarceration camps and WWII, with over 400 tape recordings and oral histories, and memorabilia such as this 1943 pamphlet from the Citizens Committee for Resettlement of the Congregational Christian Committee for Work with Japanese Evacuees (St. Louis, Missouri).
Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education records
The Los Angeles City Board of Education serves as the governing and policy-making body for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). This collection consists of handwritten meeting minutes from as early as 1875 (bottom right), as well as board and committee reports, administrative guides, annual reports, financial records, yearbooks and more through 2012.
