The Library will be closed on Sunday, March 31, 2024, in observance of Easter

la history

A colorized 1930 pen & ink drawing of the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel by Harold E. Powe
Nicholas Beyelia, September 30, 2023

1923 proved to be a banner year for construction in Los Angeles.


Gloria Molina in her office
Nicholas Beyelia, May 22, 2023

The name Gloria Molina has been in my consciousness ever since I can remember. As a fourth-generation Mexican American growing up in Los Angeles, it was impossible not to know that name but rather than being a distant figure as so many L.A.


Assemblywomen Gloria Molina joins protesters opposed to $50-a-semester fee yesterday in an address to students at East Los Angeles Community College
Lorena Villegas, May 19, 2023

Los Angeles lost a rare, truly homegrown hero of the people this week. Our beloved Gloria Molina passed on May 14th after a battle with cancer.


Portrait of Mayor Richard J. Riordan in his office
Central Library Services, April 24, 2023

Richard J. Riordan, Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993-2001, for whom the rebuilt Central Library is named, passed away at his home in Brentwood on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, at the age of 92.


Portrait of Mike Davis against an enlarged, posterized image of his book, City of Quartz
Christopher Taylor, October 28, 2022

On Tuesday, October 25, Mike Davis, the towering left-wing polemicist, passed away at his home in San Diego at the age of 76.


Matson Cruise Terminal 1955
Nicholas Beyelia, August 08, 2022

It's a painful truth that Angelenos can much too easily identify architectural structures that have been erased from our city's landscape. Some structures are well-known and widely mourned while others have disappeared from our collective consciousness without much afterthought.


Close-up view of a Dodger player's hat, glove, and ball left on the field
Bob Timmermann, September 02, 2021

Coming off a World Series win in 2020, the Los Angeles Dodgers were expected to easily win the National League West Division for the ninth straight time. But, for reasons that confound many baseball experts, the Dodgers’ archnemesis, the San Francisco Giants, stubbornly hold on to first place.


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