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Explore America: California

Explore America and discover people, places, art, and history that connect to California in the Smithsonian’s collections, held in trust for the American people. The collections include items that reflect the state’s distant past (a hunk of algae older than the dinosaurs) and its vibrant present. California’s natural treasures are as expansive as the “Golden State” itself: It is home to mountains, deserts, redwood forests, and about a thousand miles of Pacific coastline. View images of the Golden Gate Bridge, deemed one of the modern wonders of the world, and a gold nugget and Torah mantle from the 1849 gold rush. Explore the stories of notable Californians—from Hollywood icons to influential changemakers such as activist Cesar Chavez, chef and food pioneer Alice Waters, and tech visionary Steve Jobs.


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Filter Settings

Included:

  • Remove Resource Type: Photographs close

Steve Jobs

Death Valley, California

Photograph of Bruce Brown, director of the movie, "The Endless Summer" released in 1966

Shaun White

Alice Waters

Serena and Venus

Photograph of pro skater Judi Oyama, 1978

Thomas Keller

Los Angeles, California

Black Flag, Los Angeles, CA, 1980

Surf, Sea Lion Rocks, Point Lobos, California

picture, Tsubouchi family, Hanford, California, 1936

Angela Davis

Braceros in Pepper Field

Allen Ginsberg dancing to the Grateful Dead at a gathering of the Tribes for a "Human Be-In," Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA, January 14, 1967.

Gathering at the Golden Gate Park, Panhandle, Haight Ashbury, San Francisco, CA, 1967

Joan Didion

Walt Disney

With Fish on the Dock, circa 1905

Brooklyn and Soto, from the East Los Angeles Urban Portrait Portfolio

Tom Hanks

Mounted Skeleton of California Gray Squirrel

Mae West

Haight Ashbury, Golden Gate Park Panhandle during a typical weekend musical gathering. San Francisco, CA, 1967

Rock Groups San Francisco, 1967

Yogi Bhajhan sashime-yoga practice. Hollywood, CA. 1970

Clint Eastwood

California Condor

Bruce Lee

Tony Hawk

Mt. Wilson, California

Pool, from the Los Angeles Documentary Project

Alexander Brook in his Los Angeles studio

Mulholland near Canyon Lake Drive, Los Angeles, California 1993

César Chávez at Safeway Boycott in Los Angeles


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