Los Angeles Central Library

A Massive Structure, Like a Labyrinth of Knowledge

Three entrances bring you into the library from different directions. The 5th Street entrance faces the US Bank Tower. The Hope Street entrance at the south end requires climbing stairs but leads to what the architect considered the building’s finest doorway. The Maguire Gardens entrance on Flower Street takes you through landscaped terraces. All three converge at the circulation desk on the ground floor.

Check the directory near the desk. The 1926 Goodhue Building holds the Children’s and Teen departments, exhibition galleries, and administrative offices. The 1993 Tom Bradley Wing contains eight subject departments spread across eight floors, four underground. Escalators descend through a soaring atrium where three massive chandeliers hang overhead.

Finding Your Way

Each department operates as its own specialized library. The History and Genealogy Department on Lower Level 1 keeps census records, city directories, and family history resources. Staff can help you trace ancestors or research property records. The department still uses card catalogs for some collections.

The Science, Technology & Patents Department on Lower Level 2 serves as a US Patent & Trademark Resource Center. You can search the complete Patent Gazette from the Patent Office’s opening. The cookbook collection here ranks among the best in the country.

The International Languages Department stocks books, newspapers, and magazines in 29 languages. Staff provide reference help in multiple languages. The collection includes materials for language learners alongside literature for native speakers.

The Literature & Fiction Department on Upper Level 3 fills its glass-enclosed reading room with novels, poetry, and literary criticism. Comfortable chairs line the windows facing 5th Street. The Getty Gallery nearby rotates exhibits on Los Angeles arts and culture every few months.

Using the Library

A valid library card gets you two hours of computer time, parking validation, and checkout privileges. Cards are free. Sign up at the Information Desk with proof of California residency.

The Computer Center on Lower Level 3 provides desktop access and printing services. The Tech Kiosk loans laptops for use anywhere in the building. WiFi reaches all floors. Charging stations appear throughout both wings.

The Children’s Literature Department creates a separate world with lower shelves, reading nooks, and a wooden puppet theater. Regular storytimes bring families in weekly. Teen spaces offer graphic novels, manga, and young adult fiction alongside homework help and creative programs.

The Architecture You’ll Notice

Walk through these working spaces and you encounter the building’s famous features. The second-floor rotunda sits at the heart of the Goodhue Building. Dean Cornwell’s murals depicting California history circle the walls beneath Julian Garnsey’s painted dome. A one-ton bronze chandelier hangs from the center, designed with 48 lights for the 48 states when it was made in 1926.

The formal staircase leading up displays Lee Lawrie’s sculpture. Two black marble sphinxes guard a bronze statue called Civilization. More Lawrie pieces appear in hallways off the rotunda.

The Tom Bradley Wing atrium creates dramatic views from any level. Terra cotta columns painted teal support eight stories of book stacks and reading areas. Norman Pfeiffer designed the columns to echo design elements from the original building. Look for chevron patterns on column bases, service desks, and carpets throughout both wings.

The Goodhue Building

Take the formal divided staircase on the north wall up to the main level. Two black marble sphinxes guard a bronze statue called Civilization at the top. The statue wears a crown featuring a miniature of the library itself, plus a bear for California and angels for Los Angeles. Copper panels on her body show human progress from Egyptian pyramids through the Liberty Bell.

The rotunda forms the heart of Goodhue’s design. Stand beneath the 64-foot dome and look up at Julian Garnsey’s painted ceiling centered on the bronze Zodiac Chandelier. Lee Lawrie designed the one-ton chandelier with 48 lights for the 48 states that existed when the building opened in 1926. A stained glass globe hangs at its center, surrounded by zodiac symbols and planets.

Dean Cornwell painted four 40-foot murals around the rotunda walls between 1928 and 1933. His panels depict the Era of Discovery, Building of the Missions, Founding of the Pueblo of Los Angeles, and Americanization of California. Vertical allegorical paintings fill the spaces between major panels.

Walk the hallways off the rotunda to find more sculpture. One corridor ends with a massive bronze hand grasping a torch, the original model for the decoration atop the pyramid. The Getty Gallery sits around the corner from the rotunda, hosting rotating exhibits focused on Los Angeles arts and culture.

The Tom Bradley Wing

Descend the escalators into the eight-story atrium where three massive chandeliers by Therman Statom hang from the ceiling. Each measures 18 feet in diameter. Statom designed them to represent nature, science, and the arts using bright colors and expressive forms. The best view comes from Lower Level 4, where you can look up through all eight stories.

Terra cotta-faced columns painted teal line the windowed north side. Architect Norman Pfeiffer encased steel support columns in this decorative treatment, incorporating Goodhue’s chevron design motif at each base. The same chevron pattern appears on service desks, carpets, and the original 1993 library cards.

The wing houses eight subject departments spread across its levels. Each department occupies dedicated space with specialized collections. The Science, Technology & Patents Department on Lower Level 2 serves as a United States Patent & Trademark Resource Center. The International Languages Department offers materials in 29 languages. The Children’s Literature Department includes a wooden puppet theater and rotating displays of puppets created for the FOCAL prize.

The 1986 Fires and Restoration

On April 29, 1986, an arsonist set fire to the library. The blaze burned for seven hours, reaching temperatures over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Firefighters had to rotate every 15 minutes to avoid heat exhaustion. The fire destroyed 400,000 books and damaged 700,000 more with water and smoke.

Thousands of volunteers formed what became known as the hard-hat brigade. For four days, they retrieved books and packed them for transport to warehouse space. Books too wet to dry within 48 hours were frozen in commercial freezers. McDonnell Douglas and the Jet Propulsion Lab later used vacuum chambers designed for space equipment testing to dry the frozen volumes in the largest book restoration project ever undertaken.

A second arson fire on September 3, 1986, destroyed the music department reading room. The Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987 caused additional damage. The library closed for seven years while crews restored the Goodhue Building and constructed the Tom Bradley Wing. It reopened October 3, 1993.

Planning Your Visit

Free docent tours run daily. Architecture and art tours leave from the rotunda at 12:30 PM Monday through Friday, 11 AM and 2 PM Saturday, and 2 PM Sunday. Garden tours of the Maguire Gardens start at 12:30 PM on Saturdays. Tours last about an hour and require no reservation.

The Library Store near the rotunda sells books, greeting cards, tote bags, and items designed by local artists. A cafe and Panda Express on the ground floor provide food options with ample seating.

Computer access is free for library card holders. You can use computers for two hours with your card. WiFi reaches throughout both buildings. The Tech Kiosk on Lower Level 3 loans laptops for use inside the library.

The Mark Taper Auditorium hosts lectures, author talks, and performances as part of the ALOUD series. Programs are free but require reservations. Check the library website for the current schedule.

Plan at least two hours to see both buildings and the major art installations. Architecture enthusiasts often spend half a day exploring the details.