Title supplied by cataloger. McAvoy/Torrence Historic Hollywood Collection includes over 12,000 images from 1880 to 2012, chronicling both Hollywood's evolution from a dusty outpost to a global legend and Los Angeles communities and neighborhoods. The official history of the collection began in 1972 after historian/photographer/author Bruce Terence inherited the photographs from his Hollywood pioneer grandfathers, developer Charles E. Toberman and actor Ernest Torrence. Over the decades, Torrence added his own photographs, creating the impressively comprehensive collection that is available today. In 2019, Torrence retired and sold the collection to Stephen and Christy McAvoy, both Los Angeles natives with a passion for history, photography, and preservation. Stephen (1945-2023) was a retired CPA and avid photo collector whose parents worked in the Ink & Paint Department at Walt Disney Studios from the 1930s to 1970s, while Christy, a trailblazer in the field of historic preservation and architectural consulting in Hollywood, is recognized as having co-founded Hollywood Heritage and the Historic Resources Group. Her dedicated preservation efforts also include having served as president of the Los Angeles Conservancy and the California Preservation Foundation, and as an Advisor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The McAvoys, with the help of their daughter, artist/photographer Carly Caryn, maintained the physical collection and its online access until May 1, 2024, when the collection was acquired by the Los Angeles Public Library.; Aline Barnsdall donated Barnsdall Art Park to the City of Los Angeles in 1927 for arts and recreational purposes. Hollyhock House, designed by world-renowned architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, and added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1971 - Building #71000143 - is the centerpiece of the park, which is located at 4800 Hollywood Blvd. The Hollyhock House was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #12 in 1963, the 12-acre Barnsdall Park was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #34 in 1965 and Residence A (Barnsdall Park Arts Center) was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #33 in 1965. Residence B was not part of the donation to the city and Aline continued to live in this smaller house on the Edgemont side of the park, which was demolished in 1954. Aerial photograph of Barnsdall Park in East Hollywood, Griffith Park, and the Los Feliz neighborhood, looking north. Surrounding the park are several major streets: Edgemont Street (left of the park), Sunset Boulevard (lower left), Vermont Boulevard (right of center), and Hollywood Boulevard (running from lower right and to the left). Various businesses and homes are visible throughout and a glimpse of Glendale and the Verdugo Mountains are seen in the distance (upper right).
Parks Streets Dwellings Commercial buildings Elementary schools Mountains--California, Southern Barnsdall Park (Los Angeles, Calif.) Olive Hill (Los Angeles, Calif.) Hollyhock House (Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif.) Lost architecture Los Feliz Elementary School (Los Angeles, Calif.) Griffith Park (Los Angeles, Calif.) Hollywood Boulevard (Los Angeles, Calif.) Edgemont Street (Los Angeles, Calif.) Sunset Boulevard (Los Angeles, Calif.) Vermont Avenue (Los Angeles, Calif.) New Hampshire Avenue (Los Angeles, Calif.) Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Wright, Frank Lloyd,--1867-1959 Verdugo Mountains (Calif.) Santa Monica Mountains (Calif.) East Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) Los Feliz (Los Angeles, Calif.) Aerial photographs
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