Picture This: California Perspectives on American History

Former Korean War POW, Pfc. Benjamin D. Tolerson is hugged by his parents after arriving at Fort Mason in San Francisco, California

Native American young person

Let a thousand parks bloom

New Year’s Day in San Francisco’s Chinatown

Jack Weinberg being interviewed from inside the police car that was taking him away after his arrest for violating U.C. Berkeley's rules against political activity on campus

National Guard troops on the University of California, Berkeley campus

Charles E. Grace, a wealthy and famous African American religious leader and evangelist, is shown performing a baptism at the Oakland, California waterfront in front of World War I barracks with his racially integrated congregation

Indian of California

An African American man stands in front of a Free Huey Newton sign during a rally

Picture This: California’s Perspectives on American History is an educational resource that features primary source images from the Oakland Museum of California’s collections that reflect the rich cultural diversity of California.

On this website you can:

Browse pictures by three categories: Timeline, Theme, and Most Useful for Educators
Use a Picture Map to locate where images were created
Explore ways to play with the images through our Interactive Activities such as creating your own exhibits, matching images with artifacts, and sorting images by time period

Create Your Own Exhibit

The exhibit below is one of the many created by visitors to Picture This.

Iconic Images of the 60's in California

The 1960s were an extraordinary time in California. These are a few images of some of the amazing things that were happening.

Immigration Exhibit

I am interested in showing how contemporary America at the turn of the century and throughout have documented immigration through the use of photography. This exhibit allows to showcase a unique lens from the photographer.

See more exhibits created by visitors to Picture This »