Treasure collected by Peninsula film, art and music buff is opened to the public.

The late Paul Ballard was a man who loved the movies, art and classical music.

A Hollywood film teacher, Ballard loved them enough to amass about 20,000 photographic slides, nearly 1,000 books and 900 recordings.

“It was a giant hobby, his life’s work,” said Curt Wagner, a film buff who purchased the collection a decade ago when Ballard offered it for sale. Wagner and his wife, Helen, later donated the collection to the Palos Verdes Art Center. Mrs. Wagner, assisted by Palos Verdes Library District librarian Lana Yarymovych, spent several years cataloguing it.

After resting quietly in bookcases and cabinets, where it has been used largely by teachers, the collection has recently been made available for public use on Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m.

Most of the slides document the Hollywood film industry from its early, silent years in 1916 to the days of World War II in 1942. Some 2,000 movies--with such luminaries as Greta Garbo, Rudolph Valentino, Clark Gable and Marlene Dietrich--are captured in scene shots taken by set photographers that were copied from still photos.

The remainder of the slides are of great paintings, sculptures and buildings of Europe that Ballard photographed during two years he spent on the Continent.

Books in the collection--some of them too large for shelves--provide a history of art and artists from classical to modern times. Others cover Hollywood’s filmmakers, stars and studios. Many of the books are out of print and the slides are one-of-a-kind photos. Most of the recordings--on pre-compact disc LPs--are of classical music.

The collection is housed in the art center’s Norris Film Gallery, at Crestridge Road and Crenshaw Boulevard in Rancho Palos Verdes. Books may be borrowed, but records must be listened to and slides viewed at the center. Borrowers are charged a one-time $5 fee; slides may be copied for an additional charge.

Wagner, who plays the role of librarian every Thursday, said he expects students and researchers will be the most prevelent visitors. “This material should be used,” he said.