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Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History

Preserving historical materials related to San Jose and Santa Clara County

Maps and Aerial Photographs

  • California, 1852
  • City of Santa Clara: 1847, 1866.
  • Quicksilver Mining Company, 1880
  • Southern Pacific Railroad, San Jose to Gilroy: 1866
  • Southern Pacific Railroad supplement, Gilroy to Monterey County, 1871
  • Western Pacific Railroad, 1865
  • Western Pacific Railroad through Santa Clara County, 1865
  • Wall map displaying ranchos of California, 1866
  • Aerial Photograph of San Jose and adjacent areas, 1924
  • Del Carlo Aerial Photography, 1950s-1960s

Aerial Photographs

Aerial View of I-280 and Winchester                                                

Aerial View of I-280 and Winchester                                             Lexington Reservoir                                                  Downtown San Jose

Arnold Del Carlo's aerial photographs are a notable sub-set of his commercial work. Flying his own airplane (his first plane was a used Cessna 170A), Del Carlo cut a 12-inch oval hole through the floor of the back seat so he could shoot verticals, and had a luggage door installed behind the back seat so he could shoot oblique shots. Del Carlo shot aerial photographs all over the city of San Jose and Santa Clara County. The photos in this collection date primarily to the 1950s and 1960s.