Los Angeles Central Library

The Central Library features a massive concrete tower topped by a blue and gold tiled pyramid. Bertram Goodhue designed this structure in the nineteen twenties to blend Egyptian and Mediterranean styles, departing from the typical neoclassical civic buildings of the era. Inside, a fire raged in nineteen eighty-six, destroying or damaging nearly a million books. Librarians and volunteers formed a human chain for days, passing charred debris out of the building by hand to save what remained from the water damage.