Malibu History

Annette and Doris Anderson Family Photographs:

• The Anderson family lived in the Malibu Lakeside community in the Santa Monica Mountains from 1929 to 1976. This digital collection features photographs of the Anderson family cabin and the Malibu Lakeside community center, and scans of promotional and other materials related to community events. This collection also includes photographs and postcards from other prominent destinations in the Santa Monica Mountains, such as Malibou Lake, Lake Enchanto and the Seminole Hot Springs.
• Link to Finding Aid
• Link to Digital Collection

The Eric Wienberg Collection of Malibu Matchbooks, Postcards, and Ephemera: 

• The Eric Wienberg Collection of Malibu Matchbooks, Postcards, and Ephemera chronicles the history of business establishments and sites in Malibu and the surrounding area. The collection covers a period between the late 19th century and the 1980s, and features matchbook covers, postcards, publications, and ephemera from restaurants, cafes, bars, hotels, motels, stores, and other businesses from Malibu, Topanga, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Culver City, Venice Beach and Catalina Island. The collection also includes publicity photographs, photojournalistic images, and candid snapshots from life in Malibu and Southern California.

• Link to Digital Collection

John Mazza Collection of Historic Surfboards: 

• The Historic Surfboard Collection includes over thirty surfboards from the personal collection of John Mazza, surfing aficionado and local Malibu resident. The boards, on permanent loan to Pepperdine University, represent the evolution of surfing and surfboard technology in the twentieth century with examples ranging from the 1910s to the 1980s. With each board photographed from multiple perspectives, this digital collection reveals the art and ingenuity of surfboard shapers and contextualizes the boards as cultural objects with an important place in popular culture and local history. The surfboards are a part of Pepperdine University Special Collections and University Archives' Malibu Historical Collection.

• Link to Digital Collection. 

Lani Netter Collection of Malibu Photographs:

• The collection comprises the photographs of a "then and now" style photo album of Malibu, California, compiled by longtime Malibu resident Lani Netter in 1974. Content includes historical prints, ranging from 1890 to 1958, and Netter's own photographs from 1974 (bulk) and about 1990, which together depict various people, events, and locations from Malibu's history.

• Link to Finding Aid

• Link to Digital Collection

The Luella "Billie" Ulrich Collection on the Gulls' Way Estate:

• The Luella "Billie" Ulrich Collection on the Gulls Way Estate in Malibu contains photographs of the grounds, guest house, apartment interior, main house interior, and Billie and Rick (her husband) on the property. 

• Link to Finding Aid

• Link to Digital Collection

Malibou Lake Mountain Club Bulletins:

• The Malibou Lake Mountain Club is a private, secluded community in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. The collection contains the Club's administrative files, which are largely member files, containing applications, background checks, and correspondence with each individual member. Also included are Club correspondence, administrative records including president's reports and by-laws, and a collection of Club bulletins.
• Link to Digital Collection

Malibu Association of Realtors Collection:

• Digital reproductions of business records, property listings, article clippings, and promotional materials regarding the Malibu Association of REALTORS, Inc. Originally called the Malibu Board of REALTORS, Inc., the association was formed in Malibu, California in 1947. The association achieved full incorporation in 1956.

• Link to Finding Aid

• Link to Digital Collection

Malibu Historical Photograph Collection:

• This selection of images from Malibu's fascinating history brings together photographs from a range of collections in the Special Collections and University Archives department of Pepperdine University Libraries. In addition to the "Browse All Items" option, you can also see photographs by their respective collection of Malibu Times Photographs, Lani Netter Malibu Photo Album, Rancho Malibu: An Historic Real Estate Offering (Marblehead Land Co.), ca. 1939, and the Malibu Times Scrapbook of Coral Beach photographs. 
• Link to Digital Collection

Malibu Natural Disasters Collection:

• Various environmental factors present in Malibu—such as seasonal winds, a dry climate, and geologically unstable terrain—result in a predisposition towards natural disasters. This collection contains photographs related to natural disasters that occurred on Pepperdine University's campus or in the surrounding Malibu area from 1983 to 2007.  These events include several fires as well as an earthquake, storms, and flooding.  Photographs feature fires and firefighting, evacuees sheltering in place on Pepperdine's campus, burn scars from fires, and benefits for these disasters.

• Link to Finding Aid

• Link to Digital Collection

Malibu Tiles: 

• The Malibu Tiles Collection contains tiles from Malibu Potteries, a historic Malibu ceramic company which operated in the early 20th century. Malibu Potteries, owned by May Knight Rindge, produced tiles and ceramic pieces heavily inspired by Moorish, Mayan, Spanish, and Saracen cultures, featuring Art Deco influences. Despite their brief production run, they played an influential role in local architecture, and can still be viewed in various public locations throughout Malibu and greater Los Angeles. This collection contains a portion of the original tiles produced.

• Link to Finding Aid

• Link to Digital Collection

Malibu Times Photographs:

• The collection consists of photographs and negatives from the Malibu Times ranging from 1946 to 2010. There is also a file called Canyon and Country Times which includes photographs that were published within the short-lived newspaper by the same name, throughout the early 1990s. The papers were both owned by Arnold and Karen York.

• Link to Finding Aid

• Link to Digital Collection

Trancas Riders and Ropers:

• Founded in 1952, Trancas Riders and Ropers is an all-volunteer equestrian club and one of Malibu’s oldest community organizations. Trancas Riders and Ropers (T.R.R.) provides equestrian activities for youth, local families, and underprivileged riders, ranging from education, horse shows, and community events to financial assistance for those in need. This collection compiles photographs, news clippings, audiovisual recordings, and other materials to tell the T.R.R story. The major donor is Dale C. Smith, T.R.R. historian, and many of the materials additionally relate to the genealogies of the Smith, Lewis, Meek, and Decker families of western Malibu. Many of the records in this collection are annotated with “Dale’s Story,” transcribed from Mr. Smith’s handwritten recollections about each photograph or document.
• Link to Digital Collection

Woolsey Fire Memory Project:

• The Woolsey Fire started on November 8, 2018, reaching Malibu in the early hours of November 9th. By the time it was contained nearly two weeks later, the fast-moving wildfire had burned 96,949 acres of land, destroyed 1,643 structures, and forced nearly 300,000 people to evacuate. The fire touched all of us in the community and continues to impact many of our everyday lives. The Woolsey Fire Memory Project collects, preserves, and presents the history of the Woolsey Fire and its impact on our local community, with a focus on Malibu and Pepperdine University. The goals of this project are to help community members process and heal from this disastrous event by sharing their stories, and to preserve a record of the event for future generations.
• Link to Digital Collection