On the corner of Nordhoff Street and Zelzah Avenue is one of CSUN’s most recognized landmarks, the CSUN 'Spaghetti Letters' sign. After two years of planning, five months of construction, and $12,000, the sculpture designed and built by graduate student John T. Banks stood complete. The impetus for the sign was the official enaming of the campus from San Fernando Valley State College ...
A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, John M. Sell enlisted in the 83rd Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers on July 29, 1861. He was commissioned First Lieutenant on August 27 of that year, and promoted to Captain on September 4, 1862. After fighting in numerous battles over two years, Sell was shot in the left leg on July 2, 1863 during the Battle of Gettysburg. In one of the most commonly-performed medical procedures of the war, a ...
World War II ended in 1945, but victory soon turned to an uneasy peace, as long running tensions between once Allied nations surfaced in what became known as the Cold War. The tensions between Communist Russia and the democratic United States are referred to as a Cold War, since animosity between the two took shape in the form of proxy wars and political maneuvering, rather than prolonged violent fighting between the two countries...
The Carl S. Dentzel Collection documents the work and influence of Dentzel throughout his lifetime as a journalist and a community activist, including the renaming of the city of Northridge, coverage of the conflicts abroad between the U.S., Central America, South America, and Europe, and his work with organizations such as the Cultural Heritage Board of the City of Los Angeles, Museum Alliance of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural...
Margaret Sanger was one of the most influential advocates for the suffrage movement and women's rights in the twentieth century. Yet interestingly, Sanger's views on women's rights did not always coincide with the National Woman Suffrage Association and other suffrage groups that were primarily made up of middle and upper middle class white women. Sanger's early experiences as one of eleven children and her career as a visiting nurse in the slums of East Side New York...
Fairs vary in size, location, and purpose. Larger scale fairs, like state fairs, usually last for weeks or months, whereas county and neighborhood fairs typically run for a few days or weeks. Types of fairs vary from agricultural shows to those that are meant to educate local communities about different topics. Fairs vary in size and focus, but are meant to bring people together, be fun, and have an aspect of education, even if it is for self-promotion...
Special Collections and Archives is happy to announce that the newly processed papers of historian and sexologist Dr. Vern L. Bullough are now open and available for research. Dr. Bullough began his career as a medievalist historian authoring such titles as Sexual Practices & the Medieval Church; and Man in Western Civilization. He also worked extensively with his wife. Many of their co-authored or co-edited works deal with nursing or human sexuality. Their credits include...
On May 2, 1918 a local newspaper announced the organization of the Mother's Club of Marian, noting the Club’s purpose was "to be of patriotic service, to become a center for broader social life, and to work unitedly for the advancement of both school and community." Marian would later change its name...
Special Collections and Archives has a wide variety of maps, many of which are part of archival collections. To understand maps, we must understand their meaning and sometimes their intended use. The maps selected here demonstrate how different areas of greater Los Angeles have developed over the years. Some maps demonstrate changes in demographics, while others illustrate various infrastructure projects that have been in the works over time, creating new neighborhoods, freeways, parks, commercial, and residential areas. Some maps are magnifications of specific areas, while others contain broader information that reveals...
Johann Sebastian Bach wrote hundreds of works in his lifetime that were forgotten for more than a century after his death. It wasn't until Felix Mendelssohn, well-known composer and pianist of the 19th century, stumbled upon Bach's music by chance and brought it back to the public to enjoy once again, that interest in Bach’s music was reignited. Bach’s music was cherished once again, and many composers ...
