Parker, Harold A., 1878-1930

Variant names

Hide Profile

Harold A. Parker (1878-1930) immigrated to California from Iowa, and began working as a professional photographer in 1900. He opened his Pasadena studio in 1904 and operated it until his death in 1930 at the age of 52. Parker also operated a studio in the Tahoe Tavern at Lake Tahoe between 1908 and 1910, where he produced a number of images of the Tavern, Lake Tahoe, and the surrounding areas. Parker was noted for his photographs of California, especially his images of the California Missions and the Tournament of Roses parades; he was also responsible for the earliest aerial images of Pasadena. A commercial photographer, Parker worked as a contract photographer for the Pasadena Star-News Tournament of Roses edition, and took pictures of civic and social organizations, local retailers, and private individuals who commissioned him to record their gatherings, buildings, and various rites of passage.

From the description of Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Negatives [graphic], 1889-1949, (bulk 1913-1949). (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122643958

From the description of Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Lantern Slides and Transparencies [graphic], ca. 1900-1930. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 85257154

Harold A. Parker (1878-1930) was a photographer in Pasadena, California.

From the description of Harold A. Parker photographs of Lake Tahoe, circa 1900s-1910s. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 367934474

Biographical/Historical Note

Harold A. Parker (1878-1930) was born in Iowa and immigrated to Pasadena with his parents in 1892 at the age of 14. He became interested in photography at an early age, and began working professionally in 1900. Parker opened his Pasadena studio in 1904 and operated it until his death in 1930 at the age of 52. Parker also operated a studio in the Tahoe Tavern at Lake Tahoe between 1908 and 1910, where he produced a number of images of the Tavern, Lake Tahoe, and the surrounding areas. Parker was noted for his photographs of California, especially his images of the California Missions and the Tournament of Roses parades; he was also responsible for the earliest aerial images of Pasadena. A commercial photographer, Parker worked as a contract photographer for the Pasadena Star-News Tournament of Roses edition, and took pictures of civic and social organizations, local retailers, and private individuals who commissioned him to record their gatherings, buildings, and various rites of passage.

After Parker's death in 1930, operation of the studio fell to his wife, Marjorie. Sometime in the 1930s, Dickson and Thurber Studios purchased the business and operated it until shortly after World War II when it was subsequently purchased by the firm of Lee and Mac. J. Allen Hawkins, who had worked for Parker as a teenager, purchased approximately 35,000 glass plates and negatives from Lee and Mac and moved them to his studio on North Lake Avenue, Pasadena. The Parker negatives were stored at Hawkins' studio until construction of the 210 Freeway in the 1970s forced a relocation. Hawkins destroyed many of the negatives prior to the move, selling the remainder to a movie photographer who subsequently gave them to Donald Parker, Harold Parker's son.

From the guide to the Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Negatives, 1889-1958, bulk 1913-1949, (The Huntington Library)

Biographical/Historical Note

Harold A. Parker (1878-1930) was born in Iowa and immigrated to Pasadena with his parents in 1892 at the age of 14. He became interested in photography at an early age, and began working professionally in 1900. He opened his Pasadena studio in 1904 and operated it until his death in 1930 at the age of 52. Parker also operated a studio in the Tahoe Tavern at Lake Tahoe between 1908 and 1910, where he produced a number of images of the Tavern, Lake Tahoe, and the surrounding areas. Parker was noted for his photographs of California, especially his images of the California Missions and the Tournament of Roses parades; he was also responsible for the earliest aerial images of Pasadena. A commercial photographer, Parker worked as a contract photographer for the Pasadena Star-News Tournament of Roses edition, and took pictures of civic and social organizations, local retailers, and private individuals who commissioned him to record their gatherings, buildings, and various rites of passage.

After Parker's death in 1930, the studio was operated by his wife, Marjorie. Sometime in the 1930s, Dickson and Thurber Studios purchased the business and operated it until shortly after World War II when it was subsequently purchased by Lee and Mac. J. Allen Hawkins, who had worked for Parker as a teenager, purchased approximately 35,000 glass plates and negatives from Lee and Mac and moved them to his studio on North Lake Avenue, Pasadena. They were stored there until construction began for the 210 Freeway, when a large number were destroyed. Hawkins sold the remainder to a movie photographer who later gave them to Donald Parker, Harold Parker's son.

From the guide to the Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Lantern Slides and Transparencies, ca.1900-1930, (The Huntington Library)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Lantern Slides and Transparencies, ca.1900-1930 The Huntington Library
creatorOf Parker, Harold A. [View of Pasadena, Calif. towards the San Gabriel mountains] [graphic]. UC Berkeley Libraries
creatorOf Parker, Harold A., 1878-1930. Harold A. Parker photographs of Lake Tahoe, circa 1900s-1910s. Harold B. Lee Library
referencedIn Charles Francis Saunders and Mira Culin Saunders Collection of Photographs and Negatives, ca. 1871-1965, (bulk 1910s-1920s) The Huntington Library
creatorOf Hawkins, J. Allen, 1915-. J. Allen Hawkins Studio Collection of Negatives [graphic], 1924-1972. Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
creatorOf Saunders, Charles Francis, 1859-1941. Charles Francis Saunders and Mira Culin Saunders Collection of Photographs and Negatives [graphic], ca. 1871-1965 (bulk 1910s-1920s) Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
creatorOf Parker, Harold A., 1878-1930,. Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Negatives [graphic], 1889-1949, (bulk 1913-1949). Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
creatorOf Parker, Harold A., 1878-1930. Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Lantern Slides and Transparencies [graphic], ca. 1900-1930. Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
referencedIn Historical Society of Southern California Collection of Photographs by Subject, circa 1850-1982, (bulk 1880s-1930s) The Huntington Library
creatorOf Huddleston, F. M. Collection of California and Southern California Panoramic Negatives [graphic], 1889-1958 (bulk 1920s-1930s). Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
creatorOf Baker, Viroque. Historical Society of Southern California Collection of Photographs by Subject [graphic], ca. 1850s-1982 (bulk 1880s-1930s). Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
referencedIn J. Allen Hawkins Studio Collection of Negatives, 1924-1972 The Huntington Library
creatorOf Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Negatives, 1889-1958, bulk 1913-1949 The Huntington Library
referencedIn Collection of California and Southern California Panoramic Negatives, 1889-1958, (bulk 1920s-1930s) The Huntington Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith California Institute of Technology corporateBody
associatedWith Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955 person
associatedWith Green Hotel (Pasadena, Calif.) corporateBody
associatedWith Hawkins, J. Allen, 1915- person
associatedWith Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964 person
associatedWith Hotel Virginia (Long Beach, Calif.) corporateBody
associatedWith Huntington Hotel (Pasadena, Calif.) corporateBody
associatedWith Hunt, Myron, 1868-1952. person
associatedWith Knabenshue, Roy, d. 1960 person
associatedWith Knabenshue, Roy, d. 1960- person
associatedWith Marston, Van Pelt and Maybury. corporateBody
associatedWith Maryland Hotel (Pasadena, Calif.) corporateBody
associatedWith Maryland Hotel (Pasadena, Calif.) corporateBody
associatedWith Neff, Wallace, 1895- person
associatedWith Neff, Wallace, 1895-1982. person
associatedWith Raymond Hotel (Pasadena, Calif.) corporateBody
associatedWith Rodgers, Calbraith Perry. person
associatedWith Rose Bowl Stadium (Pasadena, Calif.) corporateBody
associatedWith Rose Bowl Stadium (Pasadena, Calif.) corporateBody
associatedWith Saunders, Charles Francis, 1859-1941. person
associatedWith Saunders, Mira B. Culin. person
associatedWith Schumann-Heink, Ernestine, 1861-1936 person
associatedWith Vin Fiz (Airplane) corporateBody
associatedWith Vista del Arroyo Hotel (Pasadena, Calif.) corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
California--Altadena
Bakersfield (Calif.)
Santa Catalina Island (Calif.)
Alhambra (Calif.)
San Marino (Calif.)
Pasadena (Calif.)
Arcadia (Calif.)
Tehachapi (Calif.)
Sierra Madre (Calif.)
South Pasadena (Calif.)
Antelope Valley (Calif.)
Pasadena (Calif.)
Tahoe Tavern (Tahoe City, Calif.)
San Marino (Calif.)
California--Pasadena
Arvin (Calif.)
Monrovia (Calif.)
Long Beach (Calif.)
Alhambra (Calif.)
Palm Springs (Calif.)
Tahoe, Lake (Calif. and Nev.)
Pasadena (Calif.)
California--San Marino
Santa Catalina Island (Calif.)
Yosemite National Park (Calif.)
Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
Tahoe, Lake (Calif. and Nev.)
California
Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
Glendale (Calif.)
Huntington Hotel (Pasadena, Calif.)
San Gabriel Mountains (Calif.)
Tehachapi (Calif.)
Los Angeles (Calif.)
Flintridge (Calif.)
Arvin (Calif.)
Pasadena (Calif.)
Flintridge (Calif.)
Arcadia (Calif.)
California--Pasadena
Pasadena (Calif.)
Mount Baldy (Calif.)
Palm Springs (Calif.)
Sierra Madre (Calif.)
Petrified Forest National Park (Ariz.)
California
Antiquities
Whittier (Calif.)
Petrified Forest National Park (Ariz.)
Antelope Valley (Calif.)
Whittier (Calif.)
Los Angeles (Calif.)
California--Los Angeles
Altadena (Calif.)
Monrovia (Calif.)
Tahoe Tavern (Tahoe City, Calif.)
Altadena (Calif.)
Bakersfield (Calif.)
Arizona
Yosemite National Park (Calif.)
South Pasadena (Calif.)
Tahoe, Lake (Calif. and Nev.)
Subject
Architecture, Domestic
Architecture, Domestic
Theater
Traffic accidents
Airplanes
Airships
Apartment houses
Architect-designed houses
Architect-designed houses
Architectural drawings
Automobile dealers
Automobile dealers
Automobiles
Bank buildings
Bird's-eye views
Building construction
Building construction
Business enterprises
Business enterprises
Churches
Churches
Clothing stores
Decoration and ornament, Architectural
Decoration and ornament, Architectural
Desert plants
Desert plants
Deserts
Deserts
Deserts
Display of merchandise
Display of merchandise
Dwellings
Dwellings
Dwellings
Dwellings
Employees
Employees
Funeral homes
Furniture
Gardens
Gardens
Gardens
Golf courses
Golfers
Grocery trade
Grocery trade
Historic bridges
Historic bridges
Hospitals
Hospitals
Hotels
Hotels
Housing developments
Indians of North America
Indians of North America
Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919
Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919
Interiors
Interiors
Lakes
Landscape
Landscape
Laundries
Laundries
Library buildings
Library buildings
Miniature golf
Missions
Missions
Motion picture theaters
Motion picture theaters
Mountain plants
Mountains
Prefabricated houses
Prefabricated houses
Public buildings
Public buildings
Real estate development
Recreation
Stores, Retail
San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, Calif., 1906
San Francisco Earthquake, Calif., 1906
School children
School children
Schools
Schools
Streets
Streets
Theaters
Window displays
Occupation
Photographers
Activity

Person

Birth 1878-08-14

Death 1930-02-09

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ng5fj0

Ark ID: w6ng5fj0

SNAC ID: 67861400