This guide was originally created to support students in second-year architecture courses researching marginalized and underrepresented communities in the city of San Luis Obispo. We hope it may be of use to others as a starting place for researching community histories, especially marginalized communities, on the Central Coast.

This is a work in progress, if you recommend additional resources to add to this guide, please email us at archives@calpoly.edu. 

Some records to consult on:

yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini tribe of indigenous Northern Chumash people

• yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini website resources and links 
• Digitized Materials from the Black Gold Cooperative SLO Public Library
• Print and online publications in the library catalog

Chinatown in San Luis Obispo: approximately the 800 Block of Palm Street

• Check out the Central Coast Asian American History website
• Chinatown stood on a site that previously was the site of Chumash who lived near the mission (Reference)
• References to Chinatown have been found in the Tribune as early as 1872
• Digitized Materials from the Black Gold Cooperative Asian/Pacific-Americans on the Central Coast collection
• Digitized materials in Special Collections and Archives: "Chinatown", Palm Street, Louis Family Papers
• Selected archival collections at Cal Poly:
  • Ah Louis and family records, Louis Family Papers (MS0167)
  • Gum sahn yun: Gold mountain men [Chin shan jen], 1987 publication including section on SLO's Chinatown and the Louis Family (print only)
  • A history of Chinese labor in San Luis Obispo County and a comparison of Chinese relations in this county with the anti-Chinese movement in California, 1869-1894, Patricia Mary Ochs, 1966 (print only)

Japantown in San Luis Obispo: Area near South and Higuera Street 

• See a 1930s map at the Japantown Atlas
• Digitized photographs from the Black Gold Cooperative Asian/Pacific-Americans on the Central Coast collection
• "Historical Moment for Japanese Sites" by Ann Fairbanks, July 7, 1980 SLO Telegram-Tribune [Cal Poly login required]
• Selected archival collections at Cal Poly:
  • Digitized materials from the Re/Collecting Project [archived website]
  • Eto Family Photographs (MS0151, onsite access)

Black experiences in San Luis Obispo

• Archival materials from the Central Coast Public Libraries on Calisphere
• "Times Past" article interviewing Black San Luis Obispo residents about their experiences, by Liz and Dan Krieger, January 19, 1991 SLO Telegram-Tribune [Cal Poly login required]
• A segregated U.S.O. for Black soldiers in WWII located first on Palm Street and then on Higuera Street
• "Tony Corley: Evolution of the Black Surfing Association," article written by Catherine J. Trujillo, Feb 2013
• Selected archival collections at Cal Poly:
  • Alice Martin Papers (selected digitized materials)
  • Sisters' Inn Collection (selected digitized materials)
  • Ethnic Studies Oral History Collection (MS 105)

Filipino American experiences on the Central Coast:

• Routes and Roots Collaborative Exhibit on Filipino American Experience on the Central Coast
• Digitized Materials from the Black Gold Cooperative Asian/Pacific-Americans on the Central Coast collection
• Central Coast Chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society
• Digitized materials from the Re/Collecting Project [archived website]
• "Uncovering Chinatown: The Manila Hub of San Luis Obispo" by Anne Baterina Salinas, La Vista, 2015

Some overview online resources for researching SLO history:

• City of San Luis Obispo Citywide Historic Context Statement (2013)
• Historic Preservation Program Guidelines, City of San Luis Obispo (2010)
• Growing Conflict: Agriculture, Innovation, and Immigration in San Luis Obispo County, 1837-1937, thesis by Doug Jenzen (2011)
• 1883 History of San Luis Obispo County, by Myron Angel
• 1917 History of San Luis Obispo County and Environs by Annie Morrison and John Haydon
• Central Coast Asian American History Website