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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.
The Jefferson Branch Library originally opened as a deposit station between 1912 to 1913 in the Soffel Drug Store at 2100 West Jefferson Street.
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.
![Chatsworth Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, 21052 Devonshire Street [2018] Gary Leonard, Institutional Collection/Los Angeles Public Library](https://lapl.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_latest_list_120x90/public/blogs/2022-11/dig2018-08-2108-44-224s24100.jpg?itok=5jlv1ynZ "Chatsworth Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, 21052 Devonshire Street, [2018]. Gary Leonard, Institutional Collection/Los Angeles Public Library")
This is the fifth installment of a series exploring the history that can be found near a library branch and some of the library resources that help tell that history.
The John Muir Branch Library was built in 1930, based upon a design by architect Henry Francis Withey in the Italian Renaissance style, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
From its earliest years, the Cahuenga Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library operated amidst movie studios, halls of higher learning, and architectural wonders.
![Photos of the North Hollywood library (top left) Circulation desk [1954] Valley Times Collection. (bottom left) Library exterior [1946]](https://lapl.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_latest_list_120x90/public/blogs/2022-11/library.jpg?itok=ShwPku4C "Photos of the North Hollywood library (top left) Circulation desk [1954] Valley Times Collection. (bottom left) Library exterior [1946] Los Angeles Public Library Institutional Collection. Contemporary photos by the author.")
With locations all over the city and lots of books and other materials devoted to local history, libraries are a perfect springboard for exploring Los Angeles. This is the third in a series of blog posts that digs into local history near a Los Angeles Public Library branch.
The current building of the Exposition Park - Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Regional Library is an LEED Gold Certified (environmentally sustainable design) structure built in 2008.