Branches that need to be seen to be believed.
San Pedro
Insane 80s architecture. The Madonna Inn of public libraries. It’s nautical themed and the building is dotted with porthole windows. This is one of the most outdated collections I encountered but if you love old weird books, this is definitely the place for you. High/lowlights included The Hater’s Handbook and the hilarious but deeply misguided The Life Sexual. It’s weird because I couldn’t even find the latter title in the LAPL catalog but it was truly so egregious that perhaps someone did away with it. While searching for that, I came across something EVEN WORSE. Let’s add this to a yet-to-be created list, Titles to be Weeded Post Haste.
Palms-Rancho Park
This was Ray Bradbury’s local branch and he was a major donor and supporter. There are several nods to him throughout the branch including a collection of his work, photos of him at the library, and a miniature of his home in Cheviot Hills encased in an old TV.
Los Feliz
The Los Feliz branch is built on the site of Leonardo DiCaprio’s childhood home. There are several nods to him through the building including movie memorabilia, photos, and librarian fan art. He is a longtime donor and supporter of the branch.
There’s also a framed pencil drawing of Michigan J. Frog (AKA the Warner Brothers frog) on display. I asked a staff member about it and he said that he’d never noticed it before and had no idea why it was there.
Wilshire
This was the only branch I recall seeing with an actual community garden. I noticed that LAPL tags some branches with “urban garden” on the website but I think that means that the branch is situated in a park or garden. Wilshire’s garden was notable because many LAPL branches include outdoor areas that were intended as public spaces but are no longer accessible to the public. Not only is Wilshire’s garden accessible, it’s actually used as a community garden. There’s a small corner of donated plants and gardening supplies free for the taking. The garden is a bit shaggy but it’s a real garden used by real people. Bonus points for the suffusion of mismatched birdhouses and lawn ornaments.
John Muir
There’s an exterior wall inside the building. The original building was completed in 1930 and still exists. Per Catherine Sturgeon’s LAPL Blog post, the building sustained damage in the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake after which, the building was retrofitted and expanded. Thus, one of the original exterior walls became an interior wall.
Platt
Deep in the West Valley you’ll find the Platt branch, whose exterior resembles a shopping mall from the late 80s.
The building was completed in 1995 although the land was acquired in 1967. The lot sat more or less vacant until construction commenced in the 90s1. A 1995 LA Times article about the opening of the Platt branch details the barriers to completion and echoes the very “meh” attitude of many residents who waited twenty eight years for a library.
…it is small and sits wedged between a fast-food restaurant and a concrete wash. Its collection could hardly be deemed comprehensive.
Los Angeles Times (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-21-me-57105-story.html)
I included this branch on the list of weirdo libraries because it looks like it was designed to hold a giant Faberge egg. But on a more serious note, this was one of the first branches I visited and it got me thinking about what makes a branch unique and relevant to its community.
This branch maintains a collection of environmental reports prepared by Boeing related to the nearby Santa Susana Field Laboratory Site, AKA the Superfund site. The site is currently owned by NASA and Boeing and was used for aerospace and energy R&D from 1949-2006. This included rocket fuel and nuclear reactor tests, which resulted in contaminated groundwater and a teensy partial core meltdown in 19592. Studies show that nearby residents within a two mile radius of the site are 60% more likely to experience certain cancers than those at a distance of five miles, though direct correlation has not been established3.
All this is to say that this was an unusual thing for me to encounter as a person who does not live near a Superfund site. But totally relevant and appropriate for residents of the West valley who do.
LAPLog 