Wilshire Branch Library

In addition to the Pio Pico Library, another LAPL branch that serves what is still considered the Koreatown area of Los Angeles is the Wilshire library. It doesn’t has as extensive a collection of Korean books or resources, but it’s the next best branch. (The central library in downtown LA also has Korean materials.)

The Wilshire Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library opened in 1920 in a storefront building on Second and Hobart Streets. In 1922, the Board of Library Commissioners approved a motion to purchase a lot on the southwest corner of St. Andrews Place and Council Street.

The new Wilshire Branch Library was opened in 1927. Through changing neighborhood demographics, the Wilshire Branch continued to serve the community at its St. Andrews Place location until October 1, 1987, when it was closed as a result of the Whittier Narrows earthquake. For the first time in fifty years, library service was interrupted. In July 1988, the branch moved to temporary quarters at 316 N. Western Avenue.

Proposition 1, the 1989 bond issue, and grants from the Community Development Department, have provided for renovation of the building. The renovations, designed by Barton Choy Associates, bring the building up to code, and ensure that the facility has the capabilities to meet the demands of a new century. The renovated historic structure reopened in August 1996.

Computer classes. Meeting Room Rental Available.

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