The Jeff Allen Collection, 2004-2007, documents the exterior and interior of current and former Christian churches in the Los Angeles County area and a handful of churches in Orange County. Church denominations include Protestantism, Catholicism, Mormonism and Nondenominational. This collection also documents how some churches have changed their denomination and/or demographic over time as noted on church plaques. Some demographics include Korean, Latino, African-American and Samoan Christian churches. There is also a small portion of photos of a wall mural depicting the history of Mexico in Compton.

Jeff Allen was born in 1955 and was a field volunteer for the Los Angeles Central Library Photo Collection under Senior Librarian Caroline Kozo Cole. He predominately took photos of current and former Christian churches throughout the Los Angeles area. Allen also took photos of churches in the Orange County area and of flowers, trees and murals. He did not mind going to “rough” neighborhoods as his mother taught him to not be afraid of people who were different due to language or race but rather to gain a new perspective. He was a Cost Accountant for over thirty years and as of 2013 has retired to Colorado with his wife, Lynn. Allen considers Norwalk, California his hometown. He graduated from Norwalk High School and got his accounting degree from Cal State Fullerton.

5 boxes (2.5 linear feet)

This collection is stored on-site at the Central Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library. Offline images made be viewed via appointment only. Approximately 500 images from this collection, primarily from boxes 84 and 85 may be viewed digitally, via the Los Angeles Public Library website at: https://tessa.lapl.org/