Centennial Time Capsule - Central Library | Los Angeles Public Library

The landmark Los Angeles Central Library opened to the public in July 1926. On January 29, 2026, to kick off the library's centennial year, a time capsule that was placed in the building's cornerstone during the original construction was unveiled to the public for the first time. This video highlights the year-long journey to recover the capsule and spotlights some of its unique contents.

In the midst of Central Library's construction in 1925, the Board of Commissioners and then City Librarian Everett Perry placed a time capsule within the cornerstone as part of a small, formal ceremony. On the occasion of the centennial of this landmark building, the Los Angeles Public Library has unearthed this historic capsule and made its contents publicly accessible for the first time.

A selection of these items will be on display outside the Literature and Fiction Department on the third floor. The remaining items will be housed in the Special Collections department and available for viewing by prior appointment.

The online appointment form can be found at: lapl.org/specialcollections.

Time Capsule Contents

Library History and Operations, Documents and Ephemera

Typed document: Inventory, 'List of All Articles, Papers and Documents Placed in the Cornerstone of the New Central Library Building'
Scrapbook of photographs (7) of LAPL locations, with calligraphy title in gold: 'Homes of the Los Angeles Public Library’
Pamphlet: ‘Los Angeles Public Library, 1872-1920'
Typed document: ‘Early History of the Library’ contributed by Mr. Arthur S. Bent
Copy of the resolution adopted by Board of Library Directors in honor of architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, upon his death in April 1924
Pamphlet: ‘The Library School of the Los Angeles Public Library, Circular of Information 1925-1926'
Typed document on parchment with calligraphy title page: ‘Statement of the Architects for the Central Library Building’ contibuted by Carleton Winslow
Portrait photographs (6) of City Librarian Everett Perry and Commissioners Orra E. Monnette, Rev. Francis J. Conaty, Frank H. Pettingell, Katherine G. Smith, and Francis M. Harmon-Zahn
Professionally bound document: ‘Los Angeles Public Library Board of Directors and Librarians, 1872-1925’
Professionally bound document: 'Los Angeles Public Library Employees, May 3, 1925'
Document bound by hand: 'Twenty-Five Years of Branch Library Service’
Document bound by hand: ‘Financial Statement, Los Angeles Public Library, 1925'
Pamphlets: Annual Reports, Los Angeles Public Library, 1889 and 1923-24

Local Civic and Community Organization Booklets

The Friday Morning Club, 1922-24
California Society of the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America, 1924
Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Members’ Annual, 1924
Los Angeles Stock Exchange Annual Report, 1924
Catholic Woman’s Club, Los Angeles, 1924-25
Daughters of the American Revolution of California Year Book, 1924-25
The Ebell of Los Angeles, Year Book 1924-25
National Council of Jewish Women, Los Angeles Section, Year Book 1924-25
Sons of the Revolution in the State of California, Roster, 1924-25
Los Angeles City Club Bulletin, 1925
Society of Colonial Wars in the State of California, Roster, 1925

City Government Booklets/Pamphlets

Charter of the City of Los Angeles, Press of Parker & Stone Co., Law Printers, 1919
Charter of the City of Los Angeles, 1924
Los Angeles City Government, 1923-25
Board of Public Service Commissioners of the City of Los Angeles, 22nd Annual Report, 1923
Board of Civil Service Commissioners of Los Angeles, 22nd Annual Report, 1923-24
Board of Harbor Commissioners of the City of Los Angeles Annual Report, 1923-24
Board of Public Utilities, City of Los Angeles, Fifteenth Annual Report, 1923-24
City Engineer, Los Angeles, Annual Report, 1923-24
Social Service Commission, City of Los Angeles, Eleventh Annual Report, 1923-24
Fire Department of the City of Los Angeles, Thirty-Eighth Annual Report, 1924
Report of the Auditor of the City of Los Angeles, 1924
Department of Health of the City of Los Angeles Annual Report, 1924
A Major Traffic Street Plan for Los Angeles, 1924
Annual Message of George E. Cryer, Mayor of the City of Los Angeles, 1925

Newspapers

Los Angeles Record; Friday, May 1, 1925
Los Angeles Examiner; Saturday, May 2, 1925
The Los Angeles Daily Journal; May 2, 1925
Los Angeles Evening Express; May 1, 1925
The Los Angeles Times; Saturday Morning, May 2, 1925
Los Angeles Evening Herald; Friday, May 1, 1925
Illustrated Daily News; Saturday, May 2, 1925

Misc.

Envelope of coins in circulation in 1925

In addition to the above listed documents and photos from the Library’s 1925 time capsule, there was another capsule within the capsule. This smaller box was originally placed in the cornerstone of the State Normal School (precursor to UCLA), which previously occupied the same site and was dedicated in December of 1881 before opening the following year.

Normal School 1881 Time Capsule Contents

Documents and Ephemera

Hand-written inventory of items
Catalog Cards with 1880-81 facts and statistics (3 cards), typed by 1925 Library staff
W.C. Furrey Company, Holiday Greeting Cards/Advertisements (3 cards)
Booklet: ‘An Historical Sketch of Los Angeles County’, Published by Louis Lewin,1876
Memento from the funeral of President Garfield, who had recently been assassinated: ‘Relic from the Catafalque Obsequies of President Garfield’, Presented by Louis Lewin, 1881
Parchment documenting Freemason involvement with dedication: ‘Statement of the Masonic Date of the Cornerstone’, 1881
List of Officers of Normal School present at the dedication, 1881
Comp Ticket for the District Agricultural Fair No. 6, 1881
By-Laws of Pentalpha Lodge No. 202 of Free and Accepted Masons, 1878
Rules and Regulations of the [volunteer] Los Angeles Fire Department, 1878
Constitution and By-Laws of the Thirty-Eights Engine Co. No. 1 of Los Angeles, 1879
Constitution and By-Laws of Confidence Engine Co. No. 2 of Los Angeles, 1878
Card for The Mirror Illustrated Annual, 1882
Booklet: Mirror Printing and Binding House, 1881
Booklet: Boundaries of the Public School Districts of Los Angeles County, 1880
Catalogue of the University of Southern California 1880-81
Booklet: California State and County Governments, 1881
Booklet: School Law of CA, Rules and Regulations of the State Board of Education, 1881
Booklet with medal: By-Laws of Frank Bartlett Post No. 6, Grand Army of the Republic 1878
Eighth Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State of CA, 1879
Ninth Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State of CA, 1880
Booklet: Course of Study for the Public Schools of Los Angeles County, 1880
Prospectus of the University of Southern California, 1880-81
Register of the University of California, 1880-81
Coins from around the world provided by various contributors

Los Angeles Newspapers

La Cronica; 17 de Diciembre de 1881; Spanish language paper
The Daily Commercial; September 6 and December 17, 1881 (2 issues)
The Evening Express; December 16, 1881
Illustrated Los Angeles Herald; May 1881
Los Angeles Daily Herald; December 17, 1881
Los Angeles Daily Times; December 17, 1881
Sued-Californische Post; December 17, 1881; German language paper
L’Union Nouvelle; 17 Decembre 1881; French language paper
Weekly Mirror; July 30 and December 17, 1881 (2 issues)
The University of Southern California; January, April, July 1881 (3 issues)
The University of Southern California, Endowment Fund, 1880

Other Newspapers

The Elevator: A Weekly Journal of Progress (San Francisco); December 10, 1881
The Morning Call, San Francisco; September 20 and December 3, 1881 (2 issues)
New-York Tribune; December 9, 1881
The Oshkosh Northwestern (Wisconsin); November 23, 1881
San Jose Daily Mercury; December 4, 1881