Since we’re celebrating Central Library’s centennial year, let’s take a look back at some of the library’s summer reading campaigns over the last century.
Faith Holmes Hyers was the awe-inspiring woman behind the successful publicity campaign for the 1926 opening of Central Library. Read on for a few of her notable projects.
Moving the contents of the Los Angeles Public Library from the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth floors of the Metropolitan Building, the library’s home from 1914 to 1926, to its new Central Library…
When Central Library opened in July 1926, the press spoke of lawns (east and west), a Grand Terrace, and Library Park. Today, we can see the beauty of the Maguire Gardens, but we no longer have a…
You no doubt know the names of the city's famous fictional private detectives—Philip Marlowe, Easy Rawlins, Jake Gittes—but let me introduce you to Mr. Samuel Wardlaw, Los Angeles Public Library's…
One of the Los Angeles Public Library's largest pieces of outdoor art can only be appreciated in photos now, after becoming a victim of Southern California's weather. Bison Hunt, a 50-foot-by-26-foot…
The first several decades of the Los Angeles Public Library's existence involved frequent moves into various rented spaces downtown. These locations included the Downey Block (1872-1889), City Hall…
W. Elmo Reavis was a man who wore many hats, including bookbinder, instructor, inventor, manufacturer, editor, and advocate. He established the Pacific Library Binding Company in Los Angeles in 1912…
The Vernon - Leon H. Washington Jr. Memorial Branch, located on Central Avenue at 45th Street, is one of the oldest branches in the Los Angeles Public Library system. There is an incredible amount of…
When Gertrude Darlow joined the Los Angeles Public Library in October 1893, there were less than twenty employees. During her thirty-plus years with the library, she worked under seven City Librarians…
