Photos of Carleton Watkins, today at the library

Old Plaza, circa 1880
The Plaza, Los Angeles, circa 1880 by Carleton Watkins / J. Paul Getty Museum

This amazing photograph of the old Plaza downtown, and showing La Placita and Fort Moore Hill in the background, is one of the 19th century treasures by photographer Carleton Watkins. He visited Los Angeles twice, in 1877 and 1880, and his photographs are in a new book by Getty curator emeritus Weston Naef and Huntington Library curator Jennifer Watts. They will talk about "Carleton Watkins: The Complete Mammoth Photographs" today at 2 p.m. at the Central Library's Taper Auditorium, a free event of Photo Friends of the Los Angeles Public Library. Below, Our Lady Queen of Angels Church facing Main Street and the Plaza these days.

la-placita-lao.jpg

From the LA Observed vault:
Photography of Carleton Watkins

La Placita, LA Observed


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