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firefighters climbing ladder with equipment
Neale Stokes, October 13, 2018

October 2018 marks the 25th anniversary of the LA Central Library reopening seven years after a catastrophic fire in 1986. In this short film, three people who were at the fire share their memories of the fire and the effort to recover and rebuild.


Families fill the Maguire Gardens on Central Library's reopening day
Curtis Livingston Edwards, October 11, 2018

A month after the first of two fires burned through the Central Library in 1986, a collective effort by the City of Los Angeles raised $3.2 million. This was yet another plus in a major reconstructive campaign lasting 7 and a half years.


TransLogic system tracks running through the library
Kelly Wallace, October 10, 2018

When the gleaming “new” Central Library opened its doors on October 3, 1993, seven years after the devastating fires of 1986, it touted the latest innovations in computer automation.


Jubilant participants during the 1987 Save the Books telethon.
Sheryn Morris, September 28, 2018

In retrospect, it is ironic that the fire took place when it did: April 29, 1986. On that day, progress was quietly continuing with plans for a renovation of the original Central Library and a new multi-level addition.


Tom Bradley on an escalator at the opening of the Red Line subway downtown, 1-30-93.
Central Docents, September 06, 2018

“Never give up. Keep your thoughts and your mind always on the goal.” —Tom Bradley


A close-up shot is lined up by the director and cameraman during a Maverick shoot on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, [1961]. Valley Times Collection
Wendy Horowitz, July 11, 2018

In January 1947, KTLA Channel 5, Los Angeles's first commercial television station, aired its first broadcast, and the Herald Express newspaper was there to report the milestone event.


vintage postcard of central library
Glen Creason, April 28, 2018

"It happened in New York, April 10th, nineteen years ago. Even my hand balks at the date. I had to push to write it down, just to keep the pen moving on the paper.


John Lee and the cover of four of the audiobooks he has narrated
James Sherman, April 04, 2018

John Lee has acted in productions at theatres around the country and is about to embark on the role of Malvolio in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night for Parson’s Nose Theatre in Pasadena.


Montage of four photographs and a ticket for the opening game of the Los Angeles Dodgers, April 18, 1958.
Bob Timmermann, March 28, 2018

On April 18, 1958, Major League Baseball finally arrived in what was then the country’s third-largest city. The brand new Los Angeles Dodgers were going to play their first official home game against their fellow, exported from New York arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants.


 The Cheltenham Alphabet Spout, designed by Jud Fine, which graces LUCID, the middle of three ponds in Spine.
Central Docents, February 17, 2018

After nearly a century, the Los Angeles Central Library still reflects architect Bertram G. Goodhue's vision that buildings should be “literate,” using symbolic expressions to make them distinctive and eternal.


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