A man surveys the newspapers available for reading at an open-air public library in Pershing Square, downtown Los Angeles. The Pershing Square outdoor library was opened in December of 1936, and was staffed by W.P.A. workers. Visitors to the library could choose to borrow a book by simply leaving their name. The library was quite popular, circulating 24,000 books in its first six months of operation, and spawning other outdoor libraries in Los Angeles.
California state assemblymen Jack B. Tenney of San Diego, right, and Fred Muldoon of Ventura, left, participate in an interim committee on labor and capital. The interim committee was formed in order to assess the C.I.O./United Mine, Mill, and Smelters Union strike at the San Jacinto tunnel of the Colorado River aqueduct project. The committee met first on October 27, 1937 at the California state building in Sacramento.
Admiral William F. Halsey ended his 45-year naval career aboard the U.S.S. South Dakota in the Los Angeles Harbor. He commanded the Third Fleet during the Pacific War against Japan. The ceremony consisted of the changing of his four-starred flag to the two-starred flag of his successor, Rear-Admiral Howard F. Kingman. The ship's entire company was present during the brief ceremony. After the ceremony, Halsey left the battleship on a crash boat and the U.S.S. South Dakota fired a 17-gun salute.
