LAPL Blog
Nicholas Beyelia, Librarian, History and Genealogy Department

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The Woman Nobody Knows
While scouring microfilm in the History & Genealogy Department at Central Library a few months back, I was startled to see a name that seemed entirely out of place in a particular publication.
The Lost Novel of Forman Brown
In 1987, an elderly gentleman named Forman Brown stepped inside the indie bookstore, A Different Light Books, at 4014 Santa Monica Blvd in search of a novel.
"I Promise I Will Do My Best": The Integrity of Charlotta Bass
Charlotta Bass, a name well known in Los Angeles history circles, has surfaced recently on a national front thanks in part to the ascension of Senator Kamala Harris to the position of Vice President of the United States.
In Conversation With Author Katie Orphan
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.
For the Birds: Edwin Cawston and the Farm That Invigorated Los Angeles
For someone who only spent about 25 years in Los Angeles, Edwin Cawston made a lasting impression on the cultural history of our great city and he did so through, of all things, a farm. Dubbed by the New York Journal as “one of the strangest sights in America”, the farm was anything but ordinary.
Art Meets Commerce: The Bullocks Wilshire Building at 90
In a city where no structure is guaranteed permanence, the iconic Bullocks Wilshire building turns an astounding 90 years old this week.
All About Eva: Los Angeles Hosts the American Debut of the Musical, Evita
Los Angeles is a city whose theater scene is typically overlooked, yet every now and then we are host to a production that is monumental.
Terminal Education: A Junior High School Yearbook and a Lost Community
It's a rare instance when a junior high school yearbook has implications on the social history of a city so when you see it, it’s pretty amazing; the winter 1937 edition of the John Burroughs Junior High School yearbook, Burr, is one such anomaly.
Hungary Eyes: A Continental Impression of Early Los Angeles
A number of travelogues have been written about Los Angeles throughout the decades with a myriad of opinions on the cultural and social climate of the city. The City of Angels has been both praised and reviled in equal measures, but there is no question that it always leaves a lasting impression.
The King of (Drag) Queens: The “Fascinating” Julian Eltinge
Long before Divine, Charles Pierce, Craig Russell, Jim Bailey, or any contestant on ‘Drag Race’ brought the art of drag performance to mainstream audiences, there was Julian Eltinge. Although remembered (mostly) by historians of queer history, he has been largely forgotten by the mainstream public.