Title supplied by cataloger. Central Library, located at 630 W. 5th Street in downtown Los Angeles, was designed by architects Bertram G. Goodhue and Carlton M. Winslow. Constructed between 1922-1926, it was designed to mimic the architecture of ancient Egypt, complete with a tiled mosaic pyramid tower and many beautiful murals throughout. Tragic fires in 1986 destroyed part of the building along with 20 percent of the library's collection, prompting a closure for 6 years while restoration took place. The renovation was completed in 1993, and the library reopened on October 3, 1993. The Los Angeles Public Library is the third largest public library in the United States in terms of books and periodical holdings, boasting over 6 million volumes. It was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1970 - Building #70000136. Margaret Demchevsky a librarian from Bulgaria stands in front of a sculpture in the form of a sphinx. This sphinx is one of two that symbolize the hidden mysteries of knowledge and which lay on either side of the 5th Street side stairway, as if guarding the Statue of Civilization (not visible). Lee Oskar Lawrie created these sphinxes, as well as the statue, in black unveined Belgian marble with bronze headdresses. Demchevsky was in Los Angeles attending the 1930 American Library Association convention.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;11 x 14 cm. on sheet 21 x 26 cm. Photographic prints
Los Angeles Public Library Central Library (Los Angeles, Calif.) American Library Association Libraries Conventions Women Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Goodhue, Bertram Grosvenor,1869-1924 Winslow, Carlton M Downtown Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Calif.)
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