Rancho Los Alamitos Exploration Talk

Rancho Los Alamitos hosts a lecture series to explore local history. On August 28, Dr. Christine Edstrom O'Hara will discuss her book co-edited with Susan Chamberlin, California Eden: Heritage Landscapes of the Golden State.

There are many untold stories in our built environment. Speaker Dr. O’Hara will look at the history of the state through the lens of cultural landscapes, in other words, landscapes that have been shaped by humans who have left their imprints on the natural world. The talk will examine how the California landscape was transformed by the Indigenous peoples, Spanish colonizers, settlers, nurserymen and women, among others, based on essays in the book. From the estate Green Gables, to Cypress Lawn Cemetery in San Mateo County, to the Japanese American gardens of San Diego, the essays speak to design as well as the challenges of historic preservation of these-often ephemeral places.

Cover image by Millicent Harvey Photography

Tickets are $10 per person.