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Sometimes it feels as though public libraries—free, government-supported, circulating libraries—have always been part of American life, but public libraries were rare before the last quarter of the nineteenth century.
At the Vernon - Leon H. Washington Jr. Memorial Branch Library, there is a wall in the meeting room adorned with four framed portraits. Two are paintings: one depicts writer Langston Hughes and is a gift from Miriam Matthews, the Los Angeles Public Library’s first Black librarian. The other is Leon H.
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 history that took place within a two-mile radius of the library.
Richard J. Riordan, Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993-2001, for whom the rebuilt Central Library is named, passed away at his home in Brentwood on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, at the age of 92.
The Jefferson Branch Library originally opened as a deposit station between 1912 to 1913 in the Soffel Drug Store at 2100 West Jefferson Street.
Within the larger discipline of history, there is a field that has been gaining traction called public history.
Staff working at the library during World War I were living through interesting times. They made a lot of choices, some of which were commendable and others which left us scratching our heads.
Have you ever visited a library in the middle of a department store? If you lived in Los Angeles in the early twentieth century, you could have done just that. The Hamburger Building, designed by architect Alfred F. Rosenheim, opened at 8th Street and Broadway in August 1908.
The growth of the Hollywood branch of the Los Angeles Public Library mirrors the development of Hollywood as a place. From sleepy beginnings, it grew quicker than expected, with highs and lows punctuated by dramatic events and interesting people.
![Lincoln Heights Branch Library at 2530 Workman Street [2022] Photo by Tiffney Sanford](https://lapl.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_latest_list_120x90/public/blogs/2022-11/diglincolnheights.jpg?itok=_PhWQEMH "Lincoln Heights Branch Library at 2530 Workman Street, [2022]. Photo by Tiffney Sanford")
This is the sixth in a series of blog posts that looks at history near a Los Angeles Public Library branch.