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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A City Engaged: Los Angeles in the Civil Rights Era
Los Angeles has always been a city of rich cultural diversity, often serving as a beacon of prosperity for migrants and immigrants around the globe.
Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue Part III: Cheltenham Comes to Central Library
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.
A Tribute to Maria Callas: Scenes From Verdi's "La Traviata" & Bellini's "Norma"
Callas was not only an esteemed opera diva, she was one of the 20th century's most prominent celebrities, socialites, and an international icon of style and fashion.
See's Candy: A Sweet Success Story
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.” ―Charles M. Schulz.
Book of Radiance
The Zohar (aka Sefer Ha-Zohar, or "Book of Radiance") is considered the key religious text of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism.
Interview With Elva Diane Green
February is African American Heritage Month at the Los Angeles Public Library.
Rescue in Denmark: My Family's Holocaust Story
This Saturday, January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day or Yom HaShoah. The United Nations chose this day as it was the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Interview With an Author: R.E. Stearns
R.E. Stearns wrote her first story on an Apple IIe computer and still kind of misses green text on a black screen. She went on to annoy all of her teachers by reading books while they lectured.
Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue Part II: Designing Cheltenham, a Century-Old Type Font
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.
Three Kings Day
On January 6th, twelve days after Christmas, Epiphany is celebrated, also known as Three Kings Day. This tradition has its roots in the Christian religion and celebrates the baptism of Jesus as well as the arrival of the three Magi.