Los Angeles Central Library celebrated its centennial this week with thousands streaming through its art deco halls, coming to witness a civic institution that has outlasted predictions of obsolescence and remained woven into the city's cultural fabric for a full century.
The downtown landmark, which officially opened in 1926, has played host to an unlikely mix of moments: from the shootout scenes in Heat and the ghost encounter in Ghostbusters to darker chapters, like the 1986 arson that destroyed 400,000 volumes and forced a seven-year closure. The library even had an encounter with serial killer Richard Ramirez in 1985 when he requested books on astrology and torture. A librarian assisted him without suspicion, only recognizing him days later after his arrest.
Designed by architect Bertram Goodhue as a fusion of Spanish, Egyptian, Byzantine and Islamic influences, the building commands attention from every angle. The colored mosaic pyramid crowning the roof features a sunburst and torch symbolizing enlightenment. Two black-gold sphinxes flank a staircase, representing civilization. The central rotunda stands cathedral-like, anchored by Dean Cornwell's sweeping murals of California history and a Zodiac chandelier with its stained-glass globe.
The library contains nearly 3 million books across 89 miles of shelves, making it one of the city's most capacious public repositories. Yet its role has evolved far beyond housing volumes. Today it operates an Octavia lab on its science and technology floor, offering 3D printing, vinyl cutting, digitizers and sewing machines. Named after late science fiction author Octavia Butler, who called public libraries "the open universities of America," the space reflects how the institution serves job hunters, citizenship seekers, language learners and high school diploma candidates.
During the centennial celebration, visitors lined up for a vintage injection-mold vending machine that produces tiny wax replicas of the building's famous sphinxes. The machine, installed after senior librarian Christina Rice spent over a decade tracking one down, became an instant draw. Others used recovered catalogue cards to compose poems on typewriters or pored over genealogy records in the history department. The library issued 588 new cards on the day.
The most striking exhibit proved to be the world's largest pop-up book, Luceros y Penumras by Daniel González, carefully assembled in the rotunda's center. Measuring 31 by 20 feet and standing 11 feet tall, the 1,800-pound work dominated the space where Stephen Gee, author of Los Angeles Central Library: A History of Its Art and Architecture, had described the building as "one of the city's great civic spaces, a place that's used, loved and valued every single day."
Kelly Wallace, California history specialist in the genealogy department, noted that Los Angeles residents increasingly visit to research their family histories, neighborhood pasts and the city's own evolution. Writer Susan Orlean, who authored the bestselling 2018 book The Library Book about the central library, was among the estimated 12,000 people who moved through the corridors during the centennial week.
Author James Rodriguez: "A century in, the library isn't a relic clinging to relevance, it's a working institution that adapts while keeping its architectural soul intact."
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