Los Angeles Public Library, 1971 and 2019
In the early 1920s, the Los Angeles Public Library was ready to build on the site of the former State Normal School lot one block away from Pershing Square. When the Los Angeles Library Board hired architect Bertrand Goodhue in the mid-1920s, they hoped he would use the Spanish Colonial style he made famous at the 1915 Panama California Exposition. But his style had changed. Goodhue was designing more modern buildings and went with a grand Art Deco form instead.
The 1971 photo shows the facade of the library, as visitors enter from Flower Street and move through Maguire Gardens, named after real estate developer Robert Maguire, who helped restore the library building and grounds after arson in 1986. The trees that create a natural vista are most visible in the modern photo, hiding a part of the building but giving visitors a visual cue toward the building entrance.
