Filoli, a country estate built in 1915, operates today as a historic house museum. Visitors can also explore the gardens surrounding the house.
Filoli offers exhibits; recreational and educational events and programs including tours, classes, and nature hikes; and tours for school groups. The website offers visitor information, an events calendar, information on upcoming educational events, and virtual tours of the house and gardens.
The Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum serves both as a museum of the sport of surfing as well as a national surfing Hall of Fame. The museum hosts collections of surfing memorabilia and artifacts, along with exhibits and periodic special events.
The museum offers exhibits on all facets of the sport of surfing; collections of surfing memorabilia, surfing music, surf films, and surfboards; a surfing hall of fame; a weekly concert series; and group and individual tours. The website offers detailed descriptions of all exhibits, visitor information, an events calendar, biographies of hall of fame members, online newsletters, and information regarding the museum's collections.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Museum is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the history of the San Diego County Sheriff's office and promoting its modern day activities and achievements.
The museum offers exhibits. The website offers six virtual exhibits, along with visitor information and an events calendar.
The Haas-Lilienthal House was built in 1886, and serves as an example of Queen Anne-style Victorian architecture. Today, the mansion is open as a historic house museum, fully furnished with period furniture.
The house offers docent-led tours, as well as historic photos of the house and the occupants. The website offers a history of the house and its tenants, visitor information, and a virtual tour.
Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park is the site of California’s largest "hydraulic" mine. Visitors can see huge cliffs carved by mighty streams of water, results of the gold mining technique of washing away entire mountains to find the precious metal. Legal battles between mine owners and downstream farmers ended this method. The park also contains a 7,847 foot bedrock tunnel that served as a drain. The visitor center has exhibits on life in the old mining town of North Bloomfield.
The park offers exhibits, tours, and occasional educational and recreational events.
In the early 1930s, Will Rogers was the most popular and highest paid actor in Hollywood. From his start in vaudeville theater with a trick roping act, he rose to worldwide fame as a columnist, philosopher, radio personality, and movie star. During the 1920s, he bought land in Santa Monica, where he developed a ranch. Eventually, the Rogers's owned 186 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean, in what is now known as Pacific Palisades. The ranch became the place where Will Rogers could relax with his family and friends, pursuing his favorite pastimes of riding and roping. At his untimely death in a plane crash in 1935, Will Rogers's ranch consisted of a 31-room ranch house, a stable, corrals, riding ring, roping arena, polo field, golf course, and hiking trails. When his widow, Betty, died in 1944, the ranch became a state park.
The park offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and educational and recreational events.
The California Surf Museum preserves and showcases the history of the sport of surfing.
The museum offers a large collection of surfing equipment, including vintage surfboards. The museum puts on a variety of events, including concerts and educational programs and videos. Tours are available to the public year round and to groups by request. The website offers basic visitor information and information regarding upcoming events.
The Banning Residence Museum chronicles the history and cultural context General Phineas Banning (1830-1885). General Banning is known as "The Father of the Port of Los Angeles," and is known for being one of the founders of the town of Wilmington as well as for founding the stage and shipping companies which would jump start the busy Port of Los Angeles. Banning was given the title of General after being appointed a Brigadier General of the First Brigade of the militia after he ceded land to the Union Army in order to build a fort in Wilmington.
The house museum is carefully preserved in its 19th century state, and offers visitors a snapshot of the home life of General Phineaus Banning. The website offers a first-person narrative which gives a brief biography of General Banning, an events calendar, and an online store.
The Society manages and preserves the five-acre Rancho La Patera, including the 1873 Stow House gardens. Today, the society presents the Ranch as a historic house museum and living history site where visitors can experience rural ranch and California life in the late 1800s.
The museum offers a variety of events, visitor tours, educational programs, and tours tailored for schoolchildren. The website offers a brief history of the ranch, information about upcoming events, an events calendar, visitor information, and a section for teachers which includes a field trip guide.
Established in 1997, the California Foundry History Institute (CFHI) is a non-profit educational organization incorporated in the state of California and dedicated to the collection and preservation of historical records pertaining to the history of the foundry industry in California. An important part of this work is the recording, preservation, indexing, and transcription of oral interviews with the men and women who have played a significant role in the development of the foundry industry in California. CFHI also collects and preserves documents, photographs, artifacts and ephemera related to the history of foundries in California. Much of this historical information can be seen at the two CFHI museums in Lodi and McClellan (near Sacramento). The McClellan museum participates in Sacramento County’s annual Museum Day where hundreds of visitors tour Sacramento’s museums.
The museums offer photographs, manuscripts, and examples of foundry technology for visitors to explore, along with guided tours for schoolchildren and regular visitors. The site offers a five minute introductory video, visitor information for the museums, an events calendar, and online access to the institute's archives.