One of the Los Angeles Public Library's largest pieces of outdoor art can only be appreciated in photos now, after becoming a victim of Southern California's weather. Bison Hunt, a 50-foot-by-26-foot fresco by painter/printmaker/lithographer/woodcutter Charles Kassler Jr., once graced a patio wall at Central Library. The fresco, commissioned by the Library Board of Commissioners and approved...
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Bison Hunt by Charles Kassler Jr. graced the Central Library Children’s Courtyard from 1934 until 1963 [n.d.]. Los Angeles Public Library Institutional Collection
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LGBTQIA Pride Month: A Time For Commemoration and Celebration
Photo Friends, Friday, June 1, 2018
June is LGBTQIA Pride Month, a time to remember the challenges that the LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual) community has faced and to commemorate the contributions they have made.
Seduction, Corruption, Deception, and Protection – The Black Widow and the Vice Queen (Part 1)
Photo Friends, Thursday, May 31, 2018
And now, a bit of real life noir compliments of the photo collection of the Los Angeles Public Library and the real lives of two L.A. femme fatales – the Black Widow and the Vice Queen.
Interview With an Author: C.L. Polk
C. L. Polk wrote her first story in grade school and still hasn't learned any better. After spending years in strange occupations and wandering western Canada, she settled in southern Alberta with her rescue dog Otis. C. L.
Eastern and Western Sounds Combined: Korean Composer Yun Isang
The library has recently added its first scores by the Korean composer Yun Isang (윤이상 / 尹伊桑) to our collection.
What Memorial Day Looked Like in Vintage Los Angeles
Memorial Day is officially observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who lost their lives while serving in the U.S. military. It was originally known as Decoration Day because families would decorate the graves of those who had fallen in the Civil War.
Brighton Beach Memoir: A Look at a Lost Los Angeles Community
At some point in 1889 the president and (later) chairman of the board of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Los Angeles, Jackson A. Graves, decided that his Alhambra residence simply wasn’t as relaxing for his family as he would like.
Speedy and His Camera: The Rolland J. Curtis Collection of Negatives and Photographs
Photo Friends, Thursday, May 24, 2018
Born in Louisiana in 1922, Rolland J. Curtis came to Los Angeles with his wife in 1946 after serving in the Marines during WWII.
What Mother's Day Looked Like in Vintage Los Angeles
In the United States, Mother's Day is always celebrated on the second Sunday of May. In some countries, it was changed to dates that were significant to the majority religion, or to historical dates.
Will You Go To Prom With Me?
The prom in all its drama has been around a lot longer than I thought. Originating somewhere in the1870s as a college tradition called the Promenade, it was a debutante coming out kind of thing.
Interview With an Author: John Kessel
John Kessel holds a B.A. in Physics and English and a Ph.D. in American Literature. He helped found and served as the first director of the MFA program in creative writing at North Carolina State University, where he has taught since 1982. He is also an award-winning author.