Catalina Island Museum [CA]

Description

The Catalina Island Museum presents 7,000 years of the history of Santa Catalina Island. Permanent exhibit topics include the Gabrielinos, resort history, sport fishing, media history, Avalon's casino, the Chinese junk Ning Po, steamships, and ranching. The museum collections consist of more than 150,000 artifacts. Collection highlights include Catalina tiles and Gabrielino artifacts.

The museum offers exhibits, Avalon walking tours, customizable lectures and tours, student tours, and a research center. An appointment and two weeks notice is required for archival or collections access.

Bellevue Historical Society and Museum [WA]

Description

The Bellevue Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Bellevue, Washington. To this end, the society operates a historical center within the Spanish Eclectic-style circa 1900 Winters House, once home to a wealthy bulb farmer. The center interprets both socio-cultural and natural local history.

The society offers exhibits. The website offers historic photographs.

Jack House and Gardens [CA]

Description

The 1880 Jack House and Gardens presents the home of San Luis Obispo, California's Jack family. The Jacks—ranchers, politicians, land developers, and bankers—lived in the home for more than 90 years, and the site is furnished with many of their personal belongings. The home is decorated to interpret Victorian daily life, and the gardens include period varieties of roses.

The house offers period rooms, guided tours, and self-guided gardens tours.

Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park [CA]

Description

Perched on a cliff on the central California coast, 50 miles south of San Francisco, the 115-foot Pigeon Point Lighthouse, one of the tallest lighthouses in America, has been guiding mariners since 1872. Its five-wick lard oil lamp, and first-order Fresnel lens, comprised of 1,008 prisms, was first lit at sunset, November 15, 1872. The lens stands 16 feet tall, 6 feet in diameter, and weighs 8,000 pounds. It sits in a lantern room that had been constructed at the Lighthouse Service's general depot in New York before being shipped around the Horn. Although the original Fresnel lens is no longer in use, the lighthouse is still an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation using a 24-inch Aero Beacon.

The park offers exhibits, tours, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Crowley Heritage Museum [CO]

Description

The Crowley Heritage Museum presents the history of Crowley County, Colorado, founded in 1911. At this time, recent irrigation developments had permitted Crowley County to become one of the most fruitful agricultural areas within Colorado. The area also displayed ethnic diversity—with farmers of German, Hispanic, and Japanese descent. Collection highlights include ranching artifacts and several types of barbed wire. The museum is located within a 1914 school building.

The museum offers exhibits.

Hawaiian Historical Society [HI]

Description

The Hawaiian Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Hawaii and the Pacific region. The society places particularly emphasis on the creation of scholarly publications. The society's archival collections are strongest in 19th-century materials and include voyage information, items in the Hawaiian language, newspapers, manuscripts, photographs, maps, and pamphlets.

The society offers access to archival collections for research.

Los Angeles Police Historical Society and Museum [CA]

Description

The Los Angeles Police Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of the Los Angeles Police Department. To this end, the society operates a museum, which displays historic police vehicles, uniforms, and weaponry, among other artifacts.

The society offers exhibits and research assistance. Research assistance requires payment of an hourly fee.

Research assistance is currently limited, as a result of staffing cut-backs.

Fort Columbia State Park [WA]

Description

The Fort Columbia State Park preserves one of the few remaining intact coastal defense sites in the United States. The Fort was declared surplus at the end of WWII, and was immediately converted to a Washington state park. The park is also home to an interpretive center and a variety of nature related activities.

The park offers interpretive events, exhibits, hiking trails, and guided tours. The website offers a history of the park, a photo gallery, and visitor information.

Napa Firefighters Museum [CA]

Description

The Napa Firefighters Museum presents the history of the Napa, California firefighting department. Collections include hydrants, extinguishers, firefighting toys, global firehouse images, an 1859 hand pumper, and early 1900s fire engines.

The museum offers exhibits. School tours are encouraged, and can be scheduled outside of normal admission hours.

March Field Air Museum [CA]

Description

The March Field Air Museum presents the history of air and space technology between 1918 to present, aviation accomplishments, and the March Field Air Base. The site displays over 70 historic aircraft and 2,000 artifacts. March Field was first used as a training field for World War I pilots, and the field functioned as a command base during World War II. Aircraft of note include a significant collection of World War II aircraft and the P-59, the first jet to be used by the U.S. Air Force.

The museum offers films, exhibits, a flight simulator, tours, mp3 audio tours, and a weekends-only food vendor. Tours can be arranged, given advance notice, for Spanish speaking or hearing impaired visitors. Advance notice is required for all group tours. Wheelchairs are available for use on site.