Oversized

               

 

Despite being reduced to pieces, these giant redwoods still outsize the lumberjacks who brought them down. This picture was taken in Humboldt County California in 1915.

Proto Zamboni - 1917

California beauty Dorothy Klewer is shown driving this early version of the newest ice surfacing technology. 

Reagan Democrat

This picture taken in 1948, shows actor Ronald Reagan, then a liberal Democrat, campaigning on the radio for presidential candidate Harry Truman. Reagan would eventually switch his party affiliation and go on to become the 33rd governor of the state of California, and eventually the 40th President of the United States.

The Black Dahlia

Elizabeth Short is pictured after her arrest in Santa Monica on September 23, 1943 for underage drinking. She was 19 at the time.

On the morning of January 15, 1947, on a vacant lot in Los Angeles, the nude severed body of Elizabeth Short was found. A product of a broken home, the 23 year old woman had relocated to California from the East Coast in hopes of discovering fame and fortune. She led a somewhat troubled, sometimes mysterious life, culminating in her murder, which to this day, remains unsolved. The Black Dahlia nickname is believed to have originated from her hairstyle and black attire, others believe the media created it in order to sensationalize the murder case.

13 Star Flag

The 13 Star Flag, delivered in 1804c., was the first American flag flown over California when the region was Spanish Territory. This picture was taken outside the Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1939. The flag's whereabouts today remain unknown.

The California Gold Rush

In 1848 along the American River in California, James Wilson Marshall, a carpenter from New Jersey, picked up some gold nuggets from the river near where he was building a saw mill. Scenes similar to the image above soon became symbolic of the California Gold Rush.

James Dean

On September 30, 1955, actor James Dean was driving his Porsche 550 Spyder on California Highway 46. At the intersection of highways 46 and 41 in Cholame, California, a pickup truck attempted to enter route 41, crossing directly in front of Dean resulting in a head on collision. Dean would lose his life at the young age of 24.

In September 2005, the intersection of California Routes 46 and 41 in Cholame (San Luis Obispo County) was dedicated as the James Dean Memorial Highway to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his death.