PLEASE NOTE: The audio files for our Oral History Collection are currently unavailable.

The Library, Arts & Culture Department Oral History Collection features interviews with long-time residents, pioneers, and prominent citizens, from Glendale's early days to the 21st century. Much of the collection is being made available to the public for the first time.

The interviews contained here come from a variety of sources, from programs and ceremonies sponsored by the Glendale Historical Society in the 1950s to interviews conducted by the Glendale Planning Department in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Additional oral and video histories will appear on this site as they become available.

Transcripts, when available, may be viewed using Adobe Acrobat.

COLLECTIONS

Glendale Planning Department Oral History Program Interviews
Interviews conducted by the Glendale Planning Department primarily in the 1990s, featuring long-time residents, business people, and community leaders in Glendale. Topics include the early days of Glendale, the city's demographic shift in the 1970s, and current business and community issues.

Recollections of Glendale Old Timers
Series of brief interviews, conducted in 1951 and 1952, featuring long-time residents and pioneers of early Glendale. The majority of interviews are recorded from a Glendale Historical Society-sponsored event at the Glendale Public Library in November, 1951.

Glendale Historical Society Citations for Service
Ceremony sponsored by the Glendale Historical Society recognizing residents of Glendale for contributions and accomplishments that reflect well on or increase the visibility of Glendale on a state and national level. The ceremony took place at the Richardson D. White School Auditorium on February 21, 1952.

Glendale Odd Fellows and Glendale Historical Society Historical Marker Announcement and Dedication Ceremony
Introduction of a Glendale Historical Society - Glendale Odd Fellows Lodge partnership in 1952 to install historical markers around the City of Glendale. Also included is a recording of the first historical marker dedication ceremony, which took place at the residence of Glendale pioneer and historian John Calvin Sherer.

The Oral History Collection is a part of the Glendale History Room located at the Central Library. For more information contact staff by email.