Historical Maps of California
L.A. Unfolded: Historical and notable maps on display at the Getty Gallery of the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles until March 29, Sunday. The exhibition opened in mid-October 2008.
Most of the maps are those of California, specifically the Los Angeles area — topographic surveys, tourist guides, real estate maps, pictorials and illustrations.
HIGHLIGHTS
- a 1791 Spanish explorers’ California coast map
- a 1975 Goetz Guide to the Murals of East Los Angeles
- a 1931 Mother Lode map (showing gold discoveries) by Robert Cormack
- a 1921 Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Los Angeles by G. Wm. Baist
- a 1942 city map masterly illustrated by artist-historian Jo Mora
The maps are exclusively from the Los Angeles Public Library’s own map collection, one of the largest collections owned by a public library in the United States.
The exhibition also displays winning entries of neighborhood maps created by student participants in the LAPL’s 2008 teen summer reading program.
The Getty Gallery is on the second-floor Rotunda of the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles.
Address: 630 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014
For information, call (213) 228-7500.
Ground Truth: checking the accuracy of a map or aerial image by visiting the actual location