In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, why not read a mystery? Try these three great mystery writers of Asian Angeleño heritage who plot intriguing yarns and use the settings of Los…
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a month in which we celebrate the culture, traditions, accomplishments, and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. It is…
To celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at the Los Angeles Public Library, we have occasion to show off one of the greatest pictorial maps ever created: The Pageant of the Pacific by the…
For 50 years, nationally recognized architect Norman Pfeiffer has applied creativity, innovation, and technical proficiency to an impressive portfolio of outstanding renovations and additions to…
Can't get enough of Star Wars? Immerse yourself in a galaxy far, far away with these Star Wars fiction series. The series below have been listed in approximate chronological order according to the…
April is National Poetry Month, and it's also the month that Major League Baseball kicks off a brand-new season. What better way to celebrate than by combining the two? So set your beret at a rakish…
Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953) is widely recognized both as the most important American woman composer of the Twentieth Century, and as a major figure in the study and preservation of American folk…
A highlight of our docent tours is Ann Preston's Illuminations, a series of lanterns that descend the southern escalator landings of the Tom Bradley Wing. Each lamp is 13.5' tall, and contains lights…
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)…
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…
“You do what you think is right and let the law catch up”—Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall was the first African-American appointed to the Supreme Court in 1967. On his way to serving on the high…
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…
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…
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…
Resist!Winter Dellenbach, activist, attorney, and proud first organizer of the Los Angeles Resistance, often ends her email correspondence with that simple call. Resist!The Los Angeles Resistance was…
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. If Los Angeles is selected as the host of the…
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…
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…
Si tiene un hijo al que no le gusta ir a la escuela, el libro Ene-o, no es para usted. En este libro el pequeño protagonista se imagina lo peor, pero al final se da cuenta que la escuela tiene su lado…
November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the cultures, histories, traditions, and achievements of Native people. We also honor veterans this month, on November 11. This is the…
In Part 1 of our post we looked at sculpture on the library’s exterior as it reflects an overall theme, The Light of Learning. Now we will move to the building’s interior and examine the symbolic…
El Día de los Muertos A lo largo de la historia, comunidades a través del mundo han celebrado a sus seres queridos fallecidos. En muchos países occidentales, estas celebraciones suelen ser a finales…
Since I began leading docent tours eight years ago at the Los Angeles Central Library, some tour goers ask—is hidden Masonic symbolism contained in the art that decorates the library? Unwilling to get…
"Clothes make the man", wrote Mark Twain. Whether they be politicians, corporate executives, movie stars or even gangsters, one sure-fire way to impress is simply to dress. Custom made suits, shirts…
