A National Archives Void Is Left at Chet Holifield Federal Building

It’s been more than a year since the Pacific regional office of the National Archives and Records Administration completed its move from Laguna Niguel to a location near Perris, Calif., but the space it occupied remains empty.

“Yes, the space remains vacant,” said General Services Administration and Pacific region spokesperson Gene Gibson. “We have made an effort to try get a new tenant, but so far we have not been successful.”

For 36 years, the archives were in the  but were moved in January and February 2010. The documents include actress Olivia de Havilland’s and actor Cary Grant’s petitions for naturalization and records of Chuck Yeager’s breaking of the sound barrier.

What remains today in Laguna Niguel is the National Archives and Records Administration, Pacific Region Records Management. Here, the staff  provides technical assistance to federal agencies on disaster recovery, inventorying and retention schedules.

The Inland Empire is now home to all of these historical documents—many of them referred to as “primary sources, the original documentation of a person or event.” Copies of original papers also are considered primary sources. The center is open to the public.

According to Gwen E. Grandos, director of archival operations of the National Archives at Riverside, “The Pacific archives relocated from Laguna Niguel because its building there didn’t meet environmental-control standards for preserving historic material.

“The number of researchers using the archives in person was shrinking because people increasingly rely on the Internet. So the government decided to blend its Federal Records Center Program and the archives.

“We had been in Laguna Niguel; we relocated from Bell, Calif., in 1974," she said.

According to its website, “The National Archives and Records Administration is the nation’s record keeper. Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States federal government, only 1 percent to 3 percent are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept by NARA forever.”

Many of these records are available to the public, whether you want to research to see if there’s a link to your own family’s history, need to prove a veteran’s military service or are researching an historical topic that intrigues you.

The Riverside regional center is part of the National Archives system, headquartered in Washington, DC.