LA Central Library's 100th Anniversary: Art Deco Gem with Hollywood History

The Los Angeles Central Library, an art deco architectural masterpiece designed by Bertram Goodhue, celebrated its centennial with an estimated 12,000 visitors. Opened in 1926, the library houses nearly 3 million books across 89 miles of shelves and features a central rotunda with Dean Cornwell's murals, a Zodiac chandelier, and a mosaic pyramid topped with a torch. Its design fuses Spanish, Egyptian, Byzantine, and Islamic influences, with sphinxes and Greek star figures Hesper and Phosphor adorning the entrance. The library has served as a filming location for movies like Heat and Ghostbusters and TV shows such as Moonlighting. It also survived a 1986 arson that destroyed 400,000 volumes and a visit from serial killer Richard Ramirez in 1985. The centennial event included a vintage vending machine producing replica sphinx wax models, typewriter poetry stations, and the display of the world's largest pop-up book, Luceros y Penumbras by Daniel González. Senior librarian Christina Rice highlighted the library's ongoing relevance, offering services for job seekers, citizenship applicants, and literacy programs, as well as the Octavia lab with 3D printing and sewing machines, named after author Octavia Butler. Five hundred and eighty-eight new library cards were issued during the celebration.