Shutter Mike Photography

The Los Angeles Central Public Library is located in downtown LA on W. 5th St.  Formally called the Richard Riordan Central Library, the library was constructed in 1923 and depending on who is doing the counting the library houses somewhere between the 3rd and 10th largest public library collection in the US.  Anyway you look at it that is a lot of books.

But the books were not what drew me to the library.  I mentioned a few days ago the architectural photography workshop I attended in LA.  The library was the first stop on this two day photography workshop.  Architecturally the library is a blend of the original 1923 ancient Egyptian and Mediterranean Revival architecture and the late 20th century Modernist/Beaux-Arts architecture.  A fire in 1986 destroyed 400,000 volumes of the library collection and forced the modern renovation in the 1990s.  So this combination of styles created some spectacular interior spaces.  The original rotunda and newer atrium are fantastic spaces to photograph.  Part I will focus on the atrium and then come back for part II for the rotunda.