Keeper of Past : Documents Detailing the Daily History of the County Stored in Hall of Records

When Juan Perez sold part of his ranch, the Pasa de Bartolo, to Bernardo Visarlo for a little more than $2,000, he probably did not think it was a historic occasion.

But that March 21, 1850, real estate deal and a copy of the handwritten deed to the Pasa de Bartolo became Page 1 in Volume 1 of the Los Angeles County recorder’s deed book.

Deeds are no longer handwritten or are they kept in bound volumes. These days, the nearly 100 million documents kept by the county registrar-recorder are stored mostly on microfilm and microfiche. Yet the old books, dusty and torn, survive as a historical record of the county and its residents for the last 138 years

Home to Records

The Hall of Records on Broadway and Temple Street in downtown Los Angeles is also home to the birth, death and marriage certificates of county residents as well as a multitude of grants, conveyences, liens and 300 other types of real property documents.

Most people in the county will have to deal with it at least once in their lifetime, but despite the vast amount of information locked away, all most people will remember are the sometimes long lines and impossible parking.

“It is confusing,” said Charles Venning, chief of the document processing division. “Unless you have to deal with it every day, you don’t really know what’s here and where to find it.”

Indeed, finding things can be difficult, and despite the history in the many volumes, the Hall of Records is not a place to simply browse the shelves in search of interesting nuggets of events long past. From the archives used by the County Courthouse in the sub-basement to the quiet seventh floor, records are stacked, rolled and tucked away until customers enlist the help of one of the 275 employees to find them.

According to Assistant Registrar-Recorder Richard J. Hughes, the Hall of Records processes from 7,500 to 8,000 documents a day and handles about 2,500 requests for copies of documents and certificates. Depending on the transaction, the department charges from $1 to $11 in service and copy fees. These fees, along with selected taxes derived from liens, are the sole source of revenue for the department, which receives no taxpayer money.

The county recorder’s office was born at nearly the same time as California in 1850, when the Alvarados, Picos, Temples and eight other founding families resided in the basin that is now Greater Los Angeles. According to a history prepared by the department, property and personal records before that time were kept in family Bibles and safes.

Impact of Gold Rush

With the gold rush, so many people flocked to California that a central place for record storage became necessary to settle property disputes and protect important personal records from damage and destruction.

Thus, in 1850 the first Hall of Records, a mammoth stone building with twin towers, was constructed across from the old City Hall on Broadway and Court Street.

Until it was demolished in 1959, the original building had more than enough space for records such as the marriage certificate of Fernando Lopez and Maria Valencia, who on Aug. 21, 1862, became the first couple to have their marriage recorded, and the land grants from John Temple, Andres Pico and Henry Hancock to the Los Angeles Vineyard Society, a long forgotten winery.

The deed books, like all of the earliest records, are handwritten, most in fine, flowing calligraphy. The official seal of California was often hand-drawn, rather than rubber-stamped. The pages are all numbered and signed by the recorder.

Slated to Be Destroyed

But with the Hall of Record’s stockpile of documents increasing at the rate of 100,000 a week, these books have been slated to be destroyed--a fate that has befallen other documents for the last 20 years. All the deed books have been preserved on microfilm, and Hughes said the old documents have no historical or monetary worth.

“These are not original documents; they are transcribed copies. There are no important signatures from Presidents or governors,” Hughes said.

But the outcry from descendants of two original Los Angeles families halted the process. They say that the records should be preserved. The Santa Monica Historical Society agreed last month to take the old books but have yet to pick them up, Hughes said.