As we spend the year commemorating the centennial of Central Library, it's also necessary to acknowledge a less celebratory, but still important milestone—the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Central Library Fire. The blaze, which ignited shortly before 11 a.m. on April 29, took over seven hours to extinguish and claimed roughly 400,000 books due to fire, smoke, or water damage. The tragic event...
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Librarians Billie Connor, Helene Mochedlover, and Katie Leidich sit across the street from Central Library during the Fire. Leo Jarzomb/Los Angeles Herald Examiner Collection
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Interview With an Author: C.L. Polk
C. L. Polk wrote her first story in grade school and still hasn't learned any better. After spending years in strange occupations and wandering western Canada, she settled in southern Alberta with her rescue dog Otis. C. L.
Eastern and Western Sounds Combined: Korean Composer Yun Isang
The library has recently added its first scores by the Korean composer Yun Isang (윤이상 / 尹伊桑) to our collection.
What Memorial Day Looked Like in Vintage Los Angeles
Memorial Day is officially observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who lost their lives while serving in the U.S. military. It was originally known as Decoration Day because families would decorate the graves of those who had fallen in the Civil War.
Brighton Beach Memoir: A Look at a Lost Los Angeles Community
At some point in 1889 the president and (later) chairman of the board of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Los Angeles, Jackson A. Graves, decided that his Alhambra residence simply wasn’t as relaxing for his family as he would like.
Speedy and His Camera: The Rolland J. Curtis Collection of Negatives and Photographs
Photo Friends, Thursday, May 24, 2018
Born in Louisiana in 1922, Rolland J. Curtis came to Los Angeles with his wife in 1946 after serving in the Marines during WWII.
What Mother's Day Looked Like in Vintage Los Angeles
In the United States, Mother's Day is always celebrated on the second Sunday of May. In some countries, it was changed to dates that were significant to the majority religion, or to historical dates.
Will You Go To Prom With Me?
The prom in all its drama has been around a lot longer than I thought. Originating somewhere in the1870s as a college tradition called the Promenade, it was a debutante coming out kind of thing.
Interview With an Author: John Kessel
John Kessel holds a B.A. in Physics and English and a Ph.D. in American Literature. He helped found and served as the first director of the MFA program in creative writing at North Carolina State University, where he has taught since 1982. He is also an award-winning author.
Interview With an Author: Claire Evans
Claire L. Evans is a writer and musician.
What Cinco de Mayo Looked Like in Vintage Los Angeles
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday commemorating just one event: The Battle of Puebla, which was a day of victory for the Mexican army against the French in 1862. Over 150 years later, people still mistake the holiday for Mexican Independence Day which is September 16.