While it's true that information on the 2.8 million items in the Central Library is on computer servers that take up a tiny space compared to the hundreds of drawers of catalog cards once used, one…
I have always loved books. When I was five, I pleaded with my mother for books...Little Golden Books, about lambs and engines and whatever...and she helped me learn to read them. In junior high and…
The Children’s Literature Department of Los Angeles Central Library is so vast and awe-inspiring, one of its most fascinating offerings could be easily overlooked. Displayed each year for a limited…
"Never give up. Keep your thoughts and your mind always on the goal."—Tom BradleyThe Tom Bradley Wing of the Central Library is a fitting tribute to the enlightened man who presided over Los Angeles…
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, there was a bookmaking revival in the greater Boston/New York area, and Bertram Goodhue was thoroughly involved, influential, and supportive. He designed for…
What are "air rights," and why are they important to Los Angeles's iconic Central Library building? The short answer is that without the funds the City received for the sale of the development rights…
I love taking tours through the old children’s room in the Central Library because it’s the only place in the building where one can stand close enough to the ceiling to see how artist Julian Garnsey…
In Part 1 of our post we looked at sculpture on the library’s exterior as it reflects an overall theme, The Light of Learning. Now we will move to the building’s interior and examine the symbolic…
Since I began leading docent tours eight years ago at the Los Angeles Central Library, some tour goers ask—is hidden Masonic symbolism contained in the art that decorates the library? Unwilling to get…
Did you know that when Central Library opened in 1926, the entrance at 530 South Hope Street was both the "front door" and mailing address? Patrons entered the gates at Hope Street and walked up a…
