Los Angeles Central Library: A History of Its Art and Architecture

The Friends of Crowell Public Library Meet the Authors Series

Los Angeles Central Library: A History of Its Art and Architecture

with authors Arnold Schwartzman & Stephen Gee

Wednesday January 11^th   7:00 p.m.

 
The Friends of Crowell Public Library’s Meet the Author! series begins 2017 on Wednesday, January 11^th at 7:00 pm with the publication Los Angeles Central Library: A History of its Art and Architecture, written by Stephen Gee with photographs by Arnold Schwartzman.  This landmark volume not only explores the visual history of the building, but also the story that has led to the legendary Library as it stands today. The Library’s beautiful building, paintings, murals, sculptures, decor, and storied tile work are captured by the lens of renowned Hollywood documentarian, photographer and graphic designer Arnold Schwartzman.  In detail that has never been chronicled before, architectural historian Stephen Gee shares the drama of the public’s fight to save the Library on several occasions, including the heart-wrenching story of the 1986 fire that destroyed or damaged over a million volumes.  More than 250 firefighters risked their lives for the love of books, and then the citizens of the city came together to save thousands of smoke and water-damaged books. That the priceless artwork originally installed in the 1926 building was preserved is nothing short of a civic miracle. Schwartzman shows the art—and much more—in page after page of color, all juxtaposed with historic images and blueprints, many never before published.

As City Librarian John F. Szabo wrote in his Foreword to Los Angeles Central Library: A History of its Art and Architecture, “Stephen Gee provides a captivating biographical tour through the life of this Los Angeles landmark. He offers the reader insights into the motivations and competing interests of the city’s leaders, extensive details on building materials, stories of conflict between stakeholders, and even a detailed list of the fascinating contests of the building’s cornerstone. . .” Between them, Gee’s words and Schwartzman’s camera leave no stone unturned.

The Los Angeles Central Library and its history are as fascinating as any of the storied volumes found on its shelves.  Library Lovers far and wide, don’t miss this special Meet the Authors! event at Crowell Public Library.

Rose Pruning Made Easy!

Saturday, January 7^th, 9:00-11:00 a.m.

Ron Serven, Environmental Services Manager/City Arborist for the City of San Marino, will conduct his 24^nd annual rose pruning workshop on Saturday January 7, 2017, and give even the most inexperienced gardeners the knowledge to promote healthy, beautiful rose blooming when spring comes around.  Learn the techniques in one two-hour session and be ready to work in companionship with nature.

A former City Parks Division Manager, Ron’s expertise with roses is still visible throughout the city, particularly at beautiful Lacy Park.  Many rose lovers have benefited from and attended repeat performances of Ron’s workshop at Crowell Library.  He will demonstrate optimum rose pruning techniques and answer questions from the audience, such as what to do in cold weather, or how to deal with irregular rainfall.  Those who attend will be ready to go out into their own yards the very same day to get the job done.  Rose pruning promotes healthy roses and abundant blooms in the spring.  Increasing air circulation can help prevent disease. 

Attendees will get a better sense of how Mother Nature works and will soon be spending some enjoyable time in their home gardens, armed with the knowledge to keep it thriving and beautiful.

This workshop is free and reservations are not required, but if you have questions, please call the library (626) 300-0777, extension 579.

When One Size No Longer Fits All: Genomics & Precision Healthcare

with USC Dean Emeritus Hal Slavkin & Pablo Bringas

Beginning Wednesday January 4, 12:00 – 1:30pm

As we peek into the future, personalized health care is on the horizon and is being called “precision healthcare” by some.  Hal Slavkin, Professor and Dean Emeritus from USC returns to Crowell Library, offering a class about the recent advances in health care based new understanding of the human genome.  In six sessions, participants will explore evolution, healthcare and biotechnology, with a focus on the new personalized healthcare options.   Advances in human, animal, plant and microbial genomics is rapidly enhancing the understanding of genes, allowing innovations in designing new organisms for specific approaches to diagnosis and drug treatments. The mantra “faster, cheaper and better” is rapidly advancing genomics, especially with drug designs for specific individualized cancers.

It was not that long ago when physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and other health care professionals had only a few treatment options for patients with seemingly similar diagnosis for illnesses or disorders. The result was that some patients responded well to treatment while others did not.  The different outcomes were due to the patients’ different physiologies and immune systems, complications with other biological and external factors and even misdiagnoses. 

In addition to lectures and discussion, this course will feature a few hands-on experiences to demonstrate how phenotype connects with genotype; the principles underlying the development and evolutionary process of how an organism grows, and how novel and innovative gene editing techniques can address major human diseases and disorders such as malaria, birth defects, and cancers. The key goal of this course is to enable the curious non-scientist or healthcare professional to appreciate and understand regularities and irregularities in patterns of inheritance and diseases in all living organisms.  No reservations are required for these classes.

Professor Hal Slavkin, Dean Emeritus, University of Southern California School of Dentistry retired in June 2014 after 46 years on the full-time faculty. During his academic career he served as Chair of Biochemistry, Dean of the School of Dentistry, and served as the Director for the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. Professor Slavkin lives in Marina Del Rey.