Angel City Press

Angel City Press Angel City Press at the Los Angeles Public Library is dedicated to the publication of high-quality nonfiction books about SoCal and LA!

What makes a neighborhood special? Its character, history, and architectural style!"Preserving Los Angeles: How Historic...
09/09/2026

What makes a neighborhood special? Its character, history, and architectural style!

"Preserving Los Angeles: How Historic Places Can Transform America's Cities" by Ken Bernstein with photography by Stephen Schafer, highlights how a neighborhood's cohesive architectural narrative and shared history can illuminate areas in need of preservation.

For example, these homes in the Vermont Knolls neighborhood of South Los Angeles were identified as a potential historic district through SurveyLA thanks to their strong visual and architectural character.

Discover more about LA preservation by picking up "Preserving Los Angeles" through our website!

Photo: Stephen Schafer ()

The Brand Library and Art Center was once the home of Leslie C. Brand. “An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles: Updat...
09/08/2026

The Brand Library and Art Center was once the home of Leslie C. Brand. “An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles: Updated Sixth Edition” by David Gebhard, Robert Winter, and Robert Inman features fun facts about this beautiful park and its grounds. Originally designed by Nathaniel Dryden, it received an extensive rehabilitation in 2014. Visit and enjoy the beautiful Islamic inspired facades!

El Miradero at Brand Library and Art Center [image credit: Robert Inman]

Did you know that Angels Flight has gone through many different revamps over the years? Since the funicular opened in 19...
09/03/2026

Did you know that Angels Flight has gone through many different revamps over the years? Since the funicular opened in 1901, there have been a number of structural and cosmetic changes to keep this iconic piece of LA history chugging along. Pictured here in 1949, this view of the Flight looks quite distinct from what you would see downtown right now.

Thankfully, you can still take a ride on this iconic incline, and learn all about it in “Bunker Hill Los Angeles: Essence of Sunshine and Noir” by Nathan Marsak!

Image Credit: Bruce Wojcik Collection

First published by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1965, An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles has long been...
09/02/2026

First published by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1965, An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles has long been the definitive reference to the region’s built environment. Extensively revised and rigorously updated since its fifth edition in 2003, the sixth edition expanded the guide to ninety-six sections across thirteen geographic chapters, adding more than two hundred new entries to thousands of listings that document the full breadth of Los Angeles County’s architecture. Coverage spans from the missions of Spanish California to projects completed in 2017, offering an unmatched survey of the city’s evolving landscape.

Originally authored by leading architectural historians Robert Winter and David Gebhard, both of whom have since passed, the guide has been revised and edited by award-winning urban walker and longtime Winter collaborator Robert Inman, with a foreword by historian and Emmy Award–winning Lost LA host Nathan Masters.

This update to the sixth edition notes structures lost in the 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires, while leaving their entries as they appeared in the original printing, and features a note from Robert Inman and a brand new cover.

Available now, wherever fine books are sold. Find out more info on our website!

The fishing industry in early Los Angeles was not for the weak of body, mind, or heart. Experienced crew members who liv...
08/31/2026

The fishing industry in early Los Angeles was not for the weak of body, mind, or heart. Experienced crew members who lived on Terminal Island worked quickly on the sardine boats to pull in boatloads of fish sometimes in rough sea conditions. Many of these fishing industry workers were immigrants from Japan providing for their burgeoning families, and established lives centered around the community of Terminal Island.

The stories of these workers can be found in “Terminal Island: Lost Communities on America's Edge”, by Naomi Hirahara and Geraldine Knatz, with a foreword by William Deverell and an afterword by George Takei. Take a look on our site to learn more about their lives and the historical events that shaped them.

The Beverly Wilshire Hotel has long been an iconic location since its construction in 1928. Often used as a filming loca...
08/28/2026

The Beverly Wilshire Hotel has long been an iconic location since its construction in 1928. Often used as a filming location, it has an association with Hollywood and the affluent customers it often catered to. Playing into the fanciful luxury, on a bar napkin from the hotel, we see a mermaid swim alongside a dapperly dressed man.

The mermaid motif was common on vintage bar napkins, as it represented a sense of mythological whimsy that many places were capitalizing on. You can find more mermaids in “Bar Keeps: A Collection of California's Best Cocktail Napkins” by Patrick Quinn!

Did you know that Southern California had a large oil drilling presence throughout the area! Starting way back in the 19...
08/27/2026

Did you know that Southern California had a large oil drilling presence throughout the area! Starting way back in the 1900s, L.A. was widely mined for the abundance of crude oil that sat underneath its soil. This photo from the Aerograph Company Los Angeles titled “Union Oil Companies L.B.C. #11” is circa 1930 and shows the explosive force of one of these wells.

If you are eagle-eyed enough you may be able to spot some sites around the area with false buildings and facades that hide oil rigs inside! There’s one well known one on Pico and one right next to the Beverly Center.

For more historical photographs of Los Angeles and all of California, check out “A Country Called California” by Stephen White.

Frances Kent joined the Immaculate Heart of Mary order of Catholic nuns in Hollywood in 1936. From the day she became Si...
08/25/2026

Frances Kent joined the Immaculate Heart of Mary order of Catholic nuns in Hollywood in 1936. From the day she became Sister Mary Corita, IHM, her vision expanded, first as nun, teacher, artist, and finally as activist for social justice.

“CORITA KENT. ART AND SOUL. THE BIOGRAPHY.” by April Dammann paints an account of one of America’s icons, the artist who created works of art about love and religion that flipped the ideas of what a woman and a nun could be.

Sister Corita Kent is pictured here at the Botolph Gallery reception for her exhibition in Boston during January of 1968.

Find out more about her by purchasing a copy of the book at the link in our bio.

Product Photography by Elon Schoenholz ()

Seventeen years of photographs of murals of the Virgin of Guadalupe on the walls of Los Angeles culminates in “Our Lady ...
08/24/2026

Seventeen years of photographs of murals of the Virgin of Guadalupe on the walls of Los Angeles culminates in “Our Lady of the Angels”.

Join author Sam Quinones for a night at Vroman’s Bookstore where he will discuss his first work of photojournalism documenting these murals and their poetic importance to the communities of Los Angeles.

Monday, August 31 at 7:00 p.m.
Vroman’s Bookstore
695 E. Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91101

All the napkins in “Bar Keeps: A Collection of California's Best Cocktail Napkins” by Patrick Quinn, are their true auth...
08/21/2026

All the napkins in “Bar Keeps: A Collection of California's Best Cocktail Napkins” by Patrick Quinn, are their true authentic selves! When you pick up a copy of the book you may notice various discolorations and stains on the napkins presented for your viewing pleasure.

We wanted this book to be as authentic to the napkin collecting experience as possible, and so the scans and images of the napkins are shown without much retouching or editing.

Featured here is the napkin from the El Dorado Inn in Altadena that was destroyed in the historic floods of 1969.

“Bar Keeps” is the next best thing to starting your own napkin collection! Check out the book on our website for more details.

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