TIME CAPSULE--100 YEARS AGO IN LOS ANGELES, Exhibit at the Los Angeles Central Library

Copper time capsule boxes, from 1881 on left, 1925 on right, at the Los Angeles Central Library.

In May1925, as the cornerstone for the new Central Los Angeles Library building in downtown Los Angeles was laid, a sealed copper box containing memorable items of the time was encased in a cavity within the stone. Inside was a smaller box, a time capsule from 1881 that had been placed in the State Normal School building that previously stood on the spot. When the library building was completed in the following year, the doors opened to great fanfare.  

Cornerstone Dedication and Time Capsule Placement, May 3, 1925.

Now, one hundred years later, in January 2026, in celebration of the Central Library building’s centennial, the time capsule has been retrieved and opened. It is now on display on the third floor of the library, along with the smaller box found within it—the time capsule from the State Normal School.

Some of the items found in the 1925 time capsule.

Some of the items found in the 1925 time capsule.

On a recent visit to the Central Library I visited the time capsule exhibit. I was surprised by the excellent condition of the materials that had been inside it, ranging from a book of Angeles street maps and the library’s annual report (1925) to newspapers and Christmas cards (1881). The items on exhibit are just a sample of what was contained in the boxes.

The Normal School was a teacher training institution. It moved to another location and eventually became the beginning of UCLA.

Selected contents of the 1881 time capsule.

The contents of the time capsule boxes are a snapshot of life in the growing city of Los Angeles.  For more about the city in the 1920s, click HERE for an article at the library website with numerous photos of life in the city at the time.