The archive is comprised of material related to Ed Ruscha's photographic documentation of two major Los Angeles thoroughfares: Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood Boulevard, as well as the projects that resulted from the documentation of the two streets. Ruscha documented Sunset Boulevard in twelve shoots between 1965 and 2001, and Hollywood Boulevard in four shoots between 1973 and 2004. Finished projects include his fourth photographic art book, Every Building on the Sunset Strip, 1966; the portfolio Sunset Strip 1965/1995, and the portfolio and book Then & Now: Hollywood Boulevard 1973-2004, 2005.

The American artist Edward Joseph Ruscha IV was born in Omaha, Nebraska on December 16, 1937 to Edward Ruscha III, an insurance auditor, and his wife Dorothy Driscoll Ruscha. He was raised in Oklahoma City where he met his lifelong friends Mason Williams, Joe Goode, and Jerry McMillan. After graduation from high school he drove to California with Mason Williams to attend Chouinard Art Institute (now California Institute of the Arts). Robert Irwin and Emerson Woelffer were among the teachers who would have an especially strong influence on him.

71.6 Linear Feet (50 boxes, 1 flat file)

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Open for use by qualified researchers. Audio-visual materials unavailable until reformatting is complete. Film negatives unavailable due to conservation concerns.