Landmark

The Seers of Knowledge

The figures on the Los Angeles Public Library Tower rise over the city as an extraordinary lesson in sculptural storytelling.

Archive article

The Seers of Knowledge

Los Angeles Public Library Tower

The tower of the Los Angeles Public Library carries Lawrie’s “seers of knowledge”: writers, poets, philosophers and sacred figures whose work shaped the written record.

Los Angeles Public Library Tower

The Seers of Knowledge

Dante Alighieri, author of The Divine Comedy, Los Angeles Public Library Tower — Dante Alighieri, author of The Divine Comedy

Homer, the blind poet and author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, Los Angeles Public Library Tower — Homer, the blind poet and author of the Iliad and the Odyssey

King David and Saint John maquettes, Los Angeles Public Library Tower — King David and Saint John maquettes

Another view of Homer, Los Angeles Public Library Tower — Another view of Homer

Another view of Dante, Los Angeles Public Library Tower — Another view of Dante

Plato, author of The Republic, holding a dodecahedron, Los Angeles Public Library Tower — Plato, author of The Republic, holding a dodecahedron

Goethe, author of Faust, Los Angeles Public Library Tower — Goethe, author of Faust

William Shakespeare, misspelled in stone, Los Angeles Public Library Tower — William Shakespeare, misspelled in stone

The tower from next door, Los Angeles Public Library Tower — The tower from next door