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Glen Creason, Librarian III, History & Genealogy Department

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Glen Creason and his daughter Katya celebrate the re-opening of Central Library on a closed-off 5th Street

Central Reopens: Reflections

September 25, 2018

The day my own dear Central Library reopened I got my name in the L.A. Times which elicited ragging from pals around the city.

Central 25, History Department, LAPL History, Library Stories
pictorial map of california (detail)

California Admission Day

September 10, 2018

The last time I looked upon Admission Day as an important holiday for our dear Golden State was probably back in Sister Leocritia’s grade 4 classroom at St. Helen school back when electricity was new.

Maps, History, California History
vintage postcard of central library

Rising From the Ashes: A Love Letter to Central Library

April 28, 2018

"It happened in New York, April 10th, nineteen years ago. Even my hand balks at the date. I had to push to write it down, just to keep the pen moving on the paper.

History, Central Library, Maps, History Department, LAPL History, Los Angeles History, Central 25
yogi bear and boo boo bear cartoon

Visit a National Park With the Library As Your Guide

April 21, 2018

The best way to celebrate the National Park System in America is to stand on the hallowed ground of any one of them and just look around. They never fail to fill you with wonder and genuine pride in the treasures that exist in this country.

Maps, Los Angeles History, Travel, National Parks, History
illustration of sun with face from pictorial map

L.A. Stories from the Map Cave: Pageant of the Pacific

May 17, 2017

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 artist

Maps, Video, History Department, Central Library, Heritage Months, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Downtown Los Angeles, George Coupland Thomas, Thomas Brothers Map Company, 1946.

Gay Downtown Los Angeles

June 06, 2016

Previously, in writing about Pershing Square I neglected to describe the essential role the place had in the Gay history of Los Angeles. This post is an attempt to redress that lack of research and to recognize LGBT month at Los Angeles Public Library.

LGBTQIA, Pershing Square, Downtown LA, Maps, History Department, Los Angeles History
Sanborn Fire Insurance Atlas, Sheet 469, 1950.

Central Avenue: Dunbar Hotel

February 02, 2016

As a salute to African American Heritage Month we present a brief glance at the epicenter of Central Avenue in the once glamorous and glorious Dunbar Hotel.

Maps, History Department, Heritage Months, Central Library, African American History Month
Pictorial Map of Mexico, Fischgrind Publishing, Cartographer Miguel Gomez Medina, 1931

Pictorial Map of Mexico

September 15, 2015

This masterpiece of pictorial mapping is an original from the earliest printings of the famed Fischgrind Publishing house and one of the mysterious Miguel Gomez Medina’s greatest works.

Maps, Latinx Heritage Month, History Department, Heritage Months, Central Library
Map: West Hollywood: the Community in Action, Community Business Promotions, 1993

A Pictorial Map of West Hollywood

June 01, 2015

To honor LGBT Heritage Month at the library we present this pictorial map of West Hollywood, one of America’s most enlightened cities. Street maps from as recently as the 1970’s ignored the growing power of the gay community in the little city between Beverly Hills and Hollywood.

Maps, West Hollywood, LGBTQIA, Los Angeles History
Map of the USA

Mapping the History of African Americans

February 03, 2015

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” by the great Louise E.

History Department, Maps, African American History Month, Heritage Months, History, Central Library

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