An unknown man gazes at the river under stormy skies, in a view replete with hulking oil tanks (known as “gasometers”) and other industrialized features. (1965, Herald Examiner Collection)
Exhibit Curated by Tilly Hinton and Char Miller
Encounters with the Los Angeles River have a way of intriguing, educating, and inspiring locals and visitors alike. It’s an almost otherworldly place, a location for ephemeral encounters that would be lost and forgotten but for photographers, who preserve river memories in pixels and in ink. These photos are as essential as they are intriguing. This exhibition combines historic images in the Los Angeles Public Library Photo with contemporary images donated to the library’s collection in 2022 by LA River X alumni.
This collaborative exhibition was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Photo Friends of the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection.