When I worked for the Central City Association in the late 1970s, several developers had their eyes on the library building in downtown LA. One wanted to completely raze the building to make way for a skyscraper, and then house the library on several floors in the building. Another just wanted to purchase the air rights, which would allow it to build a very tall tower on an adjacent lot and then the library could use the funds to renovate the historic structure.

A few years after I moved to Sacramento, an arson fire burned much of the building and its collections. A few months later, another fire did even more damage.

It was after that tragedy that the air rights plan kicked in, and together with other donations, the library raised enough money to restore much of the original 1926 building and add the new wing. Today, Lisa and I got to learn more about the art and architecture, and to refresh my memory of the remodeling project, on a free lunchtime docent tour.