William Andrew Clark Memorial Library

This is a review for the Boston trio performance in the drawing room. The $ 25 ticket was well worth it & it was an intimate setting perfect for chamber music. Parking is free in the lot in front. Be sure to arrive 15 minutes early for a good seat. If your view is obstructed by the person in front of you, it’s easy to move your chair. The program lasts about an hour and a half.

Book nerds rejoice! What a lovely ‘secret’ Los Angeles has been hiding! A gorgeous library built by the son of the «Copper King,» as only the scions of robber barons in a bygone age could build. Our guide was wonderfully informative and full of facts. This is a functioning reference library but really a museum, and you are led through the insanely gorgeous reading rooms with their ornate furnishings and decorations. Not just an architectural treasure it hold a huge selection of reference materials, including apparently most of Oscar Wilde’s books and documents which, when they became available in the last century, no-​one else wanted. Truly a gem worth seeing when you can take the tour. (when I visited it was just prior to the shutdown when it goes into concert mode)
Also it was used in the 80’s tv miniseries «The Thorn Birds.»

I’m not going to recommend the Clark to you as a library. You can’t borrow any books from the Clark’s rare and exquisite collection. What you can do is go to see some rare books on exhibit, attend lectures and academic conferences, see opera and theater, and listen to chamber music.
For me it’s the events that make the Clark such a hidden gem of Los Angeles. There really is no better venue to listen to small group chamber music anywhere in LA. Getting into concerts can be a challenge, demand is high so you have to apply to a lottery for tickets several months before an event, however, it is eminently worth the extra effort. While I did fail to get tickets once I have been lucky enough to get in on every other occasion.
The Clark itself is a gorgeous 1920s marble edifice packed with ornately carved wood, antique furniture and artwork, and almost camp frescos. Far less austere and stuffy than the Getty, the Clark, while opulent and classic, is also very warm, welcoming, and «used» (I mean this last statement in the best possible light). The Clark has community to it, something the Getty lacks. You don’t just visit the Clark, you become part of it – an owner of a key to the secret garden.
They have a mailing list and a dizzying bunch of webpages but I find the best place to start to be the events calendar:

I think you can find it on FB too.