Central Library unveils a peek at the L.A. of 1925 – KCRW

KCRW Reports

Central Library unveils a peek at the L.A. of 1925

The Los Angeles Central Library’s time capsule contained a scrapbook, coins, old newspapers in multiple languages and an even older time capsule from 1881.

By Danielle Chiriguayo • Feb 2, 2026 • 4m Listen

When a time capsule was buried near the LA Central Library’s cornerstone in 1925, staff didn’t leave instructions on how to open it. More than a century later, a recovery team wasn’t even entirely sure where to find it. 

But find it they did. To honor the 100-year anniversary of the Central Library, the branch kicked off a year of celebrations by unearthing that century-old time capsule buried during the building’s dedication. 

The hunt for the time capsule set off what Los Angeles City Librarian John Szabo describes as “an archeological dig.” The Central Library is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, as well as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, meaning the preservation of its art-deco design was paramount. 

“Getting it through the men’s restroom turned out to be our only option,” explains Todd Lerew, director of special projects for the Library Foundation of LA and the lead on the time capsule’s recovery. 

Szabo continues: “We had to take drywall. We had to take the studs out. We had to take one masonry wall out. Then, we had to very carefully go through the back wall of the cornerstone.” 

It took a week for Lerew and his team to get around layers of plumbing and limestone blocks. When they finally retrieved the capsule, Szabo couldn’t wait to crack it open: “Being a complete history nerd, I literally put my head inside the time capsule and I breathed in the air, thinking that that was the air that my predecessor, Everett Robbins Perry, was breathing … from 1925.

“It was a little musty, but I didn’t keel over or anything.”

The time capsule, a sealed, custom-made copper box, provided a glimpse into life in LA more than a century ago. Inside were scrapbooks of photos, old coins, and a traffic street plan for 1924. 

And it also held something else: an additional time capsule. This one was from 1881. It was buried with the cornerstone of the State Normal School, a precursor to UCLA that was originally built where the Central Library is today. 

The older capsule included books and pamphlets that provided additional glimpses of 19th century Los Angeles. It also included newspapers in English, German, and Spanish, and mementos from the funeral of U.S. President James Garfield, who was assassinated just months prior to the time capsule’s burial. 

All of these recovered items are on display now at the LA Central Library. Szabo says they represent the diversity of the city that stretches back more than 150 years: “It certainly speaks to the evolution of the city, the growth of the city, but it also reminds us that the library has had this very similar, if not the same mission, which is to welcome everyone in the community.”

• Danielle Chiriguayo, Morning Edition anchor and reporter
• Alexandra Applegate, Reporter; producer

Continue/Read Original Article Here: Central Library unveils a peek at the L.A. of 1925 | KCRW

Central Library turns 100 – LAist

Explore LA

Central Library turns 100

We explore its scrappy origin story

Cato Hernández scours through tons of archives to understand how our region became the way it is today.

The Central Library in downtown Los Angeles hits a big milestone this year: It’s turning 100 years old.

The century-old landmark has been through a lot of changes since opening, but how we got this iconic library in the first place is a saga in its own right.

A scrappy start

To understand what it took to get here, we’ll go back to 1872. Back then, the city of L.A. only had about 6,000 residents. Dirt roads were everywhere and agriculture was king.

The region was still fresh off the transition to American rule, and local leaders were just starting to dream up what the city could look like, especially in the downtown area.

There was no “LAPL” during this time — a group called the Los Angeles Library Association attended to local reading needs. John Szabo, current L.A. city librarian, says that early system was pretty bare bones.

“ It was a very small one room library with a handful of books,” he told host Larry Mantle on LAist 89.3’s AirTalk.

That was in the Downey Block building at Temple and Main streets, which is where the Federal Courthouse stands today. There were newspaper racks and shelves with about 750 books, while another space had checkers and chess — because what more do you need to fuel young minds?

The city needed a lot more because of rapid growth, but money was an issue. To help meet the demand, the association became an official city department in 1878. That allowed local officials to fund their new “Los Angeles Public Library.”

Over the years, LAPL would open satellite “reading rooms” and branch libraries. However, the main collection was expanding quickly. The books were essentially couch-surfing for years. They moved four times into different rented spaces, including into City Hall in 1889.

This was a temporary home that lasted for a couple of decades. Then, the effort to build a central library picked up steam. One of those was with a plan to put it in Pershing Square, but the project went awry. So the collection moved again — this time into a department store building (while it was still running), between women’s clothes and furniture, where it stayed for six years.

A new, innovative library

When Everett Perry, an energetic city librarian, took the helm in 1911, he lobbied for years for a central library to be created.

Finally, a decade later, voters passed a measure for a $2 million bond to pay for a new dedicated building. That would become the Central Library we have today. L.A. was a little late among large U.S. cities for getting a central library, but it finally opened in July 1926.

See Also: https://secretlosangeles.com/la-public-library-time-capsule/

Continue/Read Original Article Here: Central Library turns 100

A #libraryhistory find of a lifetime! This cabinet was used by the #Pennsylvania State Library in the late 1890s-early 1920s to ship "traveling #libraries" of #books to #rural communities that did not have public libraries of their own. I told the owner "take my money." PRICELESS!

The history of the library is one of creation, loss, reinvention, and endurance. Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen share this story with Abby Smith Rumsey on the Future Knowledge #podcast THE LIBRARY: A FRAGILE HISTORY.

🎧 Listen & subscribe here ⤵️
https://futureknowledge.transistor.fm/episodes/the-library

#Libraries #LibraryHistory #BookHistory #Knowledge @internetarchive @AuthorsAlliance

Proud of myself. I started the summer with a goal of submitting 2 #scholarly articles (both original #research) before the start of Fall semester, and I did it! Although I know they will need more work (please be kind, Reviewer 2!), it feels good to move forward on work that I'd put aside when Dad died. Life, love, and #libraryhistory go on.

Public libraries are one of America’s greatest inventions.

Free books. Free minds.

And it all started with one bold idea: everyone deserves access to knowledge.

https://brewminate.com/a-history-of-public-libraries-in-the-united-states-from-the-18th-century/

#Brewminate #LibraryHistory #PublicLibraries #EqualAccess #FreedomToRead

Feeling energized by a 3-hour lunch I had with a #libraryhistory colleague. Lots of thoughts about how our field can acculturate scholars to be generous and supportive, instead of cut-throat and competitive, all while continuing to generate high-quality and insightful #research.

📚 Libraries as “Academic Traffic Facilities”: Interlibrary Loan Imaginations after 1945

After #WWII, German #libraries faced massive losses. This article explores how interlibrary loan became central to rebuilding the academic landscape — not just through logistics, but through a new vision of knowledge.

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/735653

#LibraryHistory #InterlibraryLoan #ILL #ResourceSharing #KnowledgeInfrastructure #AcademicLibraries #PostwarHistory #UnionCatalogs #Germany #Collections #Holdings

Visited the #Connecticut State #Library in #Hartford today. Fascinating for a #libraryhistory nerd. The fireproofing design features are so cool!

So happy that my colleague and friend Eric Novotny won #ALA #LHRT 's Innovation and Advocacy in #LibraryHistory award! Richly deserved! https://www.ala.org/news/2025/05/eric-c-novotny-selected-lhrt-innovation-and-advocacy-library-history-award

I hadn't added to my #libraryhistory #postcard collection in a while, but over the weekend I found 3 that I didn't already own. They are all #Pennsylvania #libraries because that's what my collection focuses on.

A new #libraryhistory artifact for my collection: a late 19th/early 20th century silver spoon showing the #CarnegieLibraryofPittsburgh . I love that the handle is shaped like #Pittsburgh 's skyline and offers another view of CLP on the reverse!

#LibraryHistory le 7 février à Rome et en ligne, en français et italien 'Le biblioteche di ricerca a Roma (1920-1958). Collezioni, edifici, reti di ricerca e tutela' https://shorturl.at/63Sfr

This is a well-illustrated and clear summary of the history of Dorothy Porter and other African American librarians who built significant collections and services in first half of the 20th century. Gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/19/arts/harlem-renaissance-librarians-libraries-books-literature.html?unlocked_article_code=1.000.aiAO.0pmEObxUVfnH&smid=url-share.

#libraryhistory

New Journal Article: “Preserving the History of the American Library Association” https://www.infodocket.com/2024/06/04/new-journal-article-preserving-the-history-of-the-american-library-association/ #libraries #librarians #libraryhistory

Am heutigen #WelttagDesBuches greifen wir zu unserem Heft #WerkstattGeschichte 86/2022 mit Thementeil "papierkram", hg. von Michaela Hohkamp; darin u.a. Beiträge zu #Schriftstellerinnen im #Literaturmarkt um 1800 (Charlotte Zweynert) und zum Verschwinden der #Bücher aus modernen #Bibliotheken (Wilfried Enderle @subugoe):
▶️ https://werkstattgeschichte.de/alle_ausgaben/papierkram/

@bookstodon @histodons @bookhistodons @historikerinnen

#WorldBookDay #books #BookHistory #Buch #libraries #LibraryHistory #histodons #Buchgeschichte

I'm researching the idea of zero growth/steady state libraries (believe it or not, an idea that has existed for decades) as part of my work on net zero archives. Curious if anyone into #libraryhistory can speak to the 1976 Atkinson report, prepared for UK universities. From what I've gathered from 1970s library literature, this report seemed to have a wide impact on the thinking of library leaders around the world on starting to rethink space allocation needs for major research libraries.

Meet the woman who helped libraries across the U.S. 'surf the internet' #Libraries #LibraryHistory https://www.npr.org/2024/03/08/1236671339/librarian-internet-surf-libraries-jean-armour-polly

It's a delicious feeling to circle back to a simple writing task after somewhat frazzled day and finally notice something new. This is Eliza Ritchie's bookplate and in it she signals her interest in art, philosophy, and poetry.
#libraryhistory

One of the oddest things I do as part of my very slow moving project is build a genealogical file for the people I'm turning up. Lots of unconnected names but it's a small place and connections turn up in surprising ways. There are people behind all of these institutions and they intermarry. #libraryhistory