California: The Golden State in Diaries and Letters
Edited by David Kipen

A select group of contributions by Louise Steinman

Sept 8, 2016 Journal

My city. My city. I am drawn to this perch on the Spanish Steps which descend from what was LA’s old Bunker Hill district. It’s that particular moment of late afternoon when I can see a shaft of light below that enters the Central Library at Fifth Street, traverses the library’s spine and spills out onto the library’s entrance on Hope Street.

The street where I was born. Hope Street.

Central Library is in the shadow of the tallest building, the U.S. Bank Tower, the “other” target of 9/11 attackers. That’s the cause of all the bomb threats called into the library in the months after the tragedy. Each time, all of us had to trundle out of the building. It was often the only time you’d see someone who worked on another level of the mammoth building, on Lower Level 4, for example, the History Dept.

The night my department hosted a Chilean novelist and during the reception in the courtyard afterwards, the alarm sounded. Security issued us all out onto 5 th Street, leaving our keys and wallets behind. We were standing on the sidewalk for over half an hour when the library security officer walked over to me. Motioning to our guest novelist, “I need to speak to your visitor?” Yes of course and I walked a few feet beside both of them and heard the officer query

Alberto: “Do you have any known enemies? Anyone who would want to hurt you? “

Alberto rolled his eyes: “Well, I can tell you that Gabriel Garcia Marquez hates my novels.”

The security officer wrote that down.

We were all looking for evidence in those days.

—Louise Steinman