San Pedro Library Hosting U.S. Constitution Exhibit

The San Pedro branch of the Los Angeles Public Library is hosting a national U.S. Constitution exhibit that will end a 30-city tour in Atlanta during the Democratic National Convention.

The exhibit, which is in San Pedro through June 30, consists of 32 free-standing panels containing reproductions of prints, maps, manuscripts, portraits and cartoons reflecting the period in which the United States forged a legal framework that made a nation out of 13 colonies.

“It is important to recognize that we are one of 30 library systems in the nation selected to have this exhibit, along with cities like Boston, Detroit, Chicago and Houston,” said Thomas Alford, assistant Los Angeles city librarian.

Alford said the library system, which serves 3.3 million people, chose San Pedro from among its 62 branches to host the exhibit because San Pedro is celebrating its centennial and a reading room, the forerunner of the present library at 931 S. Gaffey St., opened Nov. 18, 1888. Another reason is that Los Angeles’ Central Library has been closed for two years because of a fire.

Developed by the American Library Assn. and the New York Public Library in connection with the Constitution’s bicentennial last year, the exhibit--”Are We to Be a Nation? The Making of the Constitution”--began its tour in March, 1987, and has visited more than 28 cities. After the Los Angeles run, the tour ends in Atlanta, where it will open a two-month stay July 5 at the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library.

The free exhibit is open during San Pedro library hours from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Until June 10, group tours, primarily for schoolchildren, are conducted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. San Pedro High School students dressed in Revolutionary War costumes act as docents for the student tours.