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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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Included:

  • Remove Topic: Portraits close

Steve Jobs

Dolores Huerta

Shaun White

California, Here it Comes

Ronald Reagan

Alice Waters

Thomas Keller

Angela Davis

Join the Boycott! Don't buy Gallo Wines.

Joan Didion

Walt Disney

With Fish on the Dock, circa 1905

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

Tom Hanks

Mae West

Rock Groups San Francisco, 1967

Clint Eastwood

Bruce Lee

Tony Hawk

César Chávez at Safeway Boycott in Los Angeles

Harvey Milk, 18th & Castro Streets, San Francisco

Ronald Reagan

Los Angeles 3:30 PM

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Oakland, CA

Marilyn Monroe

Busby Berkeley

Sal Castro

Hollywood Blacklist Hearings

Henry Miller

Richard Nixon

Betty and Harry Bowden on the beach at Carmel, California.

Richard Nixon

Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead

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