There are many reasons I am thankful for living in West Los Angeles. Not being required to navigate the one-way streets of Downtown Los Angeles nears the top of that list.

So when I made my latest venture Downtown, I was more than mildly perturbed that a good number of public parking lots seem to close at random come the weekend.

Hassles aside, Downtown has more than a few redeeming qualities; the architectural jewel that is the Central Library is among them.

The Egyptian-, Spanish- and Roman-inspired construction in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles is the work of architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, who also designed the Nebraska State Capitol building. Though Goodhue died two years before the library’s completion in 1926, his work is reflected in the angular detailing of the library’s signature pyramidal tower and 64-foot dome.

Intricate murals by magazine illustrator Dean Cornwell depict early California history and adorn the library’s vast rotunda with scenes of exploration and discovery, mission-building, the founding of Los Angeles and California statehood.

Aside from being remarkably beautiful, Los Angeles’ Central Library is the largest public research library west of the Mississippi with an assortment of rarities. Its collection is the third largest in the U.S. and includes holdings particularly tied to Southern California – maps of Los Angeles’ city expansion, autographs and an Old Hollywood collection housing film stills and original posters from some of the movie industry’s earliest films.

The rotunda’s Annenberg Gallery houses a glimpse of the library’s treasures in rotating exhibits from items in the special collections. Colorfully illustrated vintage California restaurant menus, turn-of-the-century music books and even a 1907 letter from President Theodore Roosevelt on the library’s customized stationery are among the current items on display.

However, it is some of the library’s more recent history that is most compelling.

In 1986, two devastating arson fires destroyed 400,000 books in the Central Library. Photographs of billowing black smoke and charred books on display in the Tom Bradley Wing document the library’s survival. The wing honors the more than 1,700 community volunteers that contributed to the library’s $214 million restoration following the damage, including Lodwrick M. Cook, for whom the library’s rotunda was renamed in honor of his work.

The Central Library is not only a monument to Los Angeles’ layers of rich history, but a valuable public resource. Browsing through the shelves of a collection holding of more than 6 million volumes is a feeling that e-readers will never quite replicate.

Enjoy reading into Los Angeles’ history? Email Roberts at lroberts@media.ucla.edu. “Artscapes” runs every Wednesday.