Buildings and Grounds, Records and Historical Materials
Scope and Contents
The Buildings and Grounds, Records and Historical Materials collection spans from 1887 to 2025 and comprises approximately 195.2 linear feet in 53 containers. It includes visual, textual, and architectural documentation of Occidental College’s campuses, structures, and planning initiatives. Materials are arranged by campus site and function. The collection also contains master plans, landscape designs, topographic surveys, and commemorative items.
Dates
- 1887 - 2025
Biographical / Historical
Occidental College was founded in 1887 as a co-educational liberal arts institution. The college’s first campus was located in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. In 1898, The college relocated to Highland Park after it's Boyle Heights building was lost to a fire.
In 1914, Occidental moved to its current and permanent home in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of northeast Los Angeles. Originally designed by architect Myron Hunt, the new campus was conceived as a unified architectural and educational environment, with Mediterranean-style buildings. Over the next century, the Eagle Rock campus expanded steadily to include academic halls, residence buildings, athletic facilities, and cultural landmarks—many made possible through gifts from alumni and benefactors.
Extent
19.69 Linear Feet (54 containers)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Buildings and Grounds, Records and Historical Materials collection documents the physical development and architectural history of Occidental College. Material types include campus photographs and renderings, architectiral blueprints and renderings, publications, and administrative and historical records related to the college’s campuses in Boyle Heights, Highland Park, and Eagle Rock. A significant portion of the collection is devoted to individual buildings and facilities and includes biographical and historical narratives about donors, architects, and the evolution of campus spaces.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into six series reflecting the physical and functional organization of Occidental College’s. The materials are grouped first by geographic location—beginning with the college’s earlier sites in Boyle Heights and Highland Park, followed by the current Eagle Rock campus.
Within the Eagle Rock series, most materials are further arranged by location. This arrangements reflects the organizational structure in our campus facilities department and allows for conitunuity between units.
The Master Plan and Lanscape series are not divided by building, rather they are grouped by project in order to maintain context.
The series are as follows:
Boyle Heights Campus
Highland Park Campus (1904–1914)
Eagle Rock Campus
Academic Buildings
Administrative Buildings
Athletic Facilities
Campus Auxiliaries
Grounds and Structures
Residence Halls
Master Plans
Landscape Design and Architecture
Surveys and Topographical Maps
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Occidental College Archives Repository