Richard J Riordan Central Library

Richard J Riordan Central Library review

Designed by Bertram Goodhue, completed in 1926 and renamed after the city's former mayor in 2001, LA's main library is worth a look even if you've no interest in borrowing books. The exterior is a beaux arts beauty, topped with a dramatic, tiled pyramid tower and decorated with bas-reliefs by Lee Lawrie, but there's also plenty to see inside.

The main lobby is topped with an unexpectedly colourful ceiling mural by Venice artist Renée Petropoulos; other highlights include a frieze that retells Walter Scott's Ivanhoe (International Languages Department) and a series of murals dedicated to California history (Children's Literature Department). The Annenberg Gallery shows rare LA-related pieces from the library's collection; the Getty Gallery stages temporary shows; and there's a fine programme of lectures and discussions in the Mark Taper Auditorium (for details, see www.lfla.org/aloud).