The incised metal steps that lead from Flower Street to the Central Library are part of an “art plan integrated with an architectural plan” now known as “Spine,” and the highlight of The Maguire…
When you take our free docent-led art and architecture tours of the Los Angeles Central Library, we always point out Teen’Scape, one of the nation’s first libraries within a library designed by and…
Our free art and architecture tours of L.A.'s Central Library begin by taking a look at the exterior of the historic 1926 Goodhue Building. Architect Bertram Goodhue and his colleague, Carlton Winslow…
Our free art and architecture tour of L.A.'s Central Library begins in the 1926 Goodhue Building, famous for its sculpture, murals, painted ceilings, and wonderful architecture. The building has…
Recently, we found a folder tucked away at the back of a file cabinet in the Social Science, Philosophy & Religion Department. The folder was full of suggested reading lists and flyers from the…
The elegant Literate Fence, on the Fifth Street side of the library, was designed by Washington state industrial metal artist Ries Niemi (b.1955). The Deco design, completed in 1993, echoes the design…
Our free docent-led art and architecture tour of the Los Angeles Central Library always includes a stop in the International Languages Department, through which visitors can find the library's…
As you learn on our daily docent-led tours, The Richard J Riordan Central Library has almost 90 years of fascinating history. But some of most intriguing chapters in the building’s story occurred…
As African American Heritage Month draws to a close, I would like to bring your attention to a largely unknown chapter of American history. The segregation laws and practices collectively known as…
Our free, docent-led Art and Architecture tours of the downtown Central Library begin and end in the Main Lobby. But we are often asked: where exactly is the library’s front door? It’s a strange…
To commemorate African American Heritage Month, Central Library offers two maps that exemplify the struggles and triumphs of African-Americans in this country. The first is “Americans of Negro Lineage…
One of the many special and unique items at Central Library is a collection of ASE books. Armed Services Editions, popularly known as ASEs, are pocket-sized books made for and distributed to American…
To the bane of many genealogists, the eleventh census of the United States was heavily damaged by a fire at the Commerce Department in 1921. Less than one percent of it survived, which means we have…
If you’ve ever taken a tour of the Central Library, you’ve probably heard mention of Hartley Burr Alexander, the man who worked with architect Bertram Goodhue on the theme and symbolism of the…
