Orange Alert

There are two popular theories about Los Angeles history. The first is that the city doesn’t have much of one. The second, only slightly less cynical view, is that Los Angeles neglects its history. “Treasures of Los Angeles,” the inaugural exhibition in the new Annenberg Gallery at the Central Library downtown, provides a nice rejoinder to both. It also marks a new beginning for the library, which now has a dedicated space to showcase examples from 13 of its special collections.

The show is an introductory sample of library “treasures,” which come from all over but devote a hefty chunk to Southern California history, including autographs, maps, citrus labels, bookplates, thousands of restaurant menus and nearly 3 million photographs. “It’s important to show people the depth of special interest and quirkiness to our history,” says Anne Connor, Central Library assistant director and curator of the show.

The historical record is full of trademark Southern California optimism, it seems. A promotional brochure for the Hollywoodland real estate tract from the 1920s lures with a picture of Hollywood Boulevard in a burst of klieg lights and this promise: “Five minutes from Hollywood’s Great White Way.” A Pacoast Brand citrus label features a perfect orange seemingly floating above an equally perfect California coastline. On a laminated Bob’s Big Boy menu from 1969, Bob, wearing those unflattering red-and-white checked overalls, holds a basket of eggs in one hand and a bucket of fresh milk in the other while next to him, a rooster sings “Good Morning.”

According to Connor, “One of the pieces people look at most, and probably one that makes people think about the city in a different way,” is a 1929 map entitled “The Old Spanish and Mexican Ranchos of Los Angeles County.” It features familiar names such as El Encino, Cienega o Paso de la Tijera, Sausal Redondo.

The majority of pieces in the show are drawn from the Hollywood collection of the Frances Howard Goldwyn Hollywood Regional Branch. There are magazine covers dating from the ‘50s, movie posters, handbills, lobby cards, and scene stills and postcards, including one of a 1930 tableau of the Brown Derby on Vine Street, “the acknowledged center of the smart social life of the movie colony.”

The colony might have moved on to spots such as Spago Beverly Hills and Dolce. But most of us still buy into the California Dream, and Los Angeles past, this exhibit reveals, is a lot like Los Angeles present, only a lot more crowded. Still, it’s good someone is keeping a record.