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Carlos Bulosan and the echo park branch library
Echo Park Branch, Echo Park Branch Library, January 27, 2026

Carlos Bulosan was 17 when he arrived in Seattle in 1930. The son of farmers in Pangasinan, Philippines, he had little formal education and limited English. Like many others before and since, he wanted a better life. Moving up and down the Pacific coast, he did hard manual labor in canneries and farm fields. His first-hand experience as a migrant worker in an often hostile world inspired a...

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Lucille Raport shown at her architectural firm in 1961 (detail)

Women's History Month Spotlight on Lucille Bryant Raport: North Hollywood Architect

Christina Rice, Senior Librarian, Photo Collection, Monday, March 6, 2017

For many, the predominant image of the post-War woman is the suburban mother and consummate homemaker as immortalized in television characters of the period such as Donna Stone (The Donna Reed Show), Harriet Nelson (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), and June Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver).


 Suffragettes on Parade, LAPL Photo Collection (sometime before 1920)

The Legacy of Equal Rights Magazine

Social Science, Philosophy and Religion Department, Central Library, Saturday, March 4, 2017

March 8 marks International Women’s Day, a global celebration that has taken place yearly since the early 1900s. IWD celebrates women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements and contributions and calls for action to increase gender equality.


Portrait of Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall - An American Hero

Social Science, Philosophy and Religion Department, Central Library, Sunday, February 26, 2017

“You do what you think is right and let the law catch up”—Thurgood Marshall


Scott Joplin

Scott Joplin, Treemonisha and American Opera

Alan Westby, Librarian, Art, Music & Recreation Department, Tuesday, February 21, 2017

2017 marks the hundredth anniversary of the death, at the age of 49, of Scott Joplin, one of America's first great composers, and the composer of arguably the first important American opera: Treemonisha.


Tower Reconstruction, 1991.

What Are "Air Rights" and Why Are They Important to Central?

Central Docents, Central Library, Friday, February 10, 2017

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 above Central Library, we might not have the Library building we have today.


The University of California at Los Angeles after trailing California at Berkeley through the first quarter, finally came into its own at the Memorial Coliseum. In this photo, Kenny Washington, brilliant Bruin halfback, is away to a smashing gain as his teammate, Woody Strode, effectively blocks out the California secondary defense. Dated November 4, 1939

Los Angeles and the Reintegration of the NFL

Bob Timmermann, Senior Librarian, History & Genealogy Department, Friday, February 3, 2017

In 1995, after playing in Southern California for nearly 50 years, the Los Angeles Rams left the West Coast for the Midwest, to become the St. Louis Rams. They would stay there for 21 years, winning one Super Bowl title and losing in a second, before coming back to the Southland last year.


poster art, resistance

The Resistance Lives!

Ani Boyadjian, Principal Librarian, Research and Special Collections, Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Resist!

Winter Dellenbach, activist, attorney, and proud first organizer of the Los Angeles Resistance, often ends her email correspondence with that simple call. Resist!


Carl Lewis raises his arms in victory at the LA 84 olympics

Going for the Gold: African Americans and the 1984 Olympic Summer Games

Christina Rice, Senior Librarian, Photo Collection, Wednesday, February 1, 2017

On January 25, 2017, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to give its final approval to the city’s bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.


In 1966, Yvonne Brathwaite Burke became the first African American woman elected to the California Assembly, and in 1972, was the first woman elected to the House.

Against All Odds: State & Local African American Politicians in the 1960s

Christina Rice, Senior Librarian, Photo Collection, Monday, January 30, 2017

The 1960s were a transformative period for the country with Civil Rights at the forefront. African Americans gained traction in political positions both at the state and local level, and Los Angeles was no exception. Fortunately, Rolland Curtis was around to document many of these leaders.


1926 Mural

Original Children's Room Holds Art and ... Secrets!

Central Docents, Central Library, Wednesday, December 14, 2016

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’s painting skill created the illusion of wooden beams. The secret behind the illusion?


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