The Chinese New Year bring celebrations that include firecrackers, parades, fish, dragons, lions, and lucky money in red envelopes. The Los Angeles Public Library’s photo collection contains images of…
Stand aside muffler men! Fresh milk from a Guernsey cow, high octane fuel fit for an Indy 500 winner, and steak dinners from a stockade-themed eatery are just a few of the products that early…
On this first day of African American History Month, we reflect on the African American community of early Los Angeles. Arriving in the region in search of the California Dream, African American…
Richard Lange is the author of the short story collections Dead Boys and Sweet Nothing and novels This Wicked World, Angel Baby, and The Smack. Lange was honored with the Rosenthal Family Foundation…
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but as in so many cities and towns throughout the country, his impact on Los Angeles was strong and far-reaching. King visited L.A. on numerous…
We don’t have a typical Christmas season here in L.A., like the ones in syrupy movies with snow, ear muffs, winter coats, and people standing in a blizzard preparing to jump off a trestle. We do have…
I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this new book, Read Me Los Angeles: Exploring L.A.’s Book Culture from Prospect Park Books. I purchased a copy of right before the Safer at Home initiative…
Libraries are empty of customers and that is sad as hell. Sad for library workers who not only love the musty smell of the stacks but also the everyday challenges of actual patrons! We pine for our…
Aldous Huxley described Los Angeles as “nineteen suburbs in search of a metropolis"—and didn’t mean it as a compliment. In fact, the diversity of Los Angeles is one of its greatest strengths. The Los…
On June 28, 1970, the very first Pride Parade in Los Angeles was held on Hollywood Boulevard, one year after the Stonewall uprising in New York City. New York held its own parade on the same day, as…
“Today I sketched the preliminary plans for a large country house which will be erected in one of the most beautiful residential districts in the world... Sometimes I have dreamed of living there. I…
The notion of having one’s own savings account is commonplace to us modern folk. But for former slaves—many of whom had never even seen money—it was an alien concept. And, in a country that runs on…
It was a time when Angelenos should have been preparing to head out into the streets waving victory flags and knocking back belts of whiskey before the commencement of the dreaded Volstead act. The…
On February 24, guitarist and songwriter David Roback passed away in his home city of Los Angeles at the age of 61. He was best known for his moody psychedelic band Mazzy Star, featuring vocalist Hope…
