Archives Bazaar: All the LAs That Make LA

The free history day invites Angelenos to delve deep into the past.

Are you a delver or a whateverer?

High hopes that you voted the former, not the latter. Delvers dig deeper into the little mysteries that festoon their everyday lives and worlds, while whateverers are, you know, like, "whatever" (hence the name).

LA happens to be flush with delving, as a happy hobby. Architecture tours wander our residential streets, history-focused plays unfurl in our museums, and everywhere everyone knows a little something about somewhere they love, even if it is just the diner where they get their daily coffee. (Everyone should the story of their daily diner -- fact.)

The Archives Bazaar at USC's Doheny Library is delving's annual local holiday. The free lookie-loos-welcome event happens on Saturday, Oct. 12, and you may want to be there for the whole day, depending on how nosy, curious, and incredibly intrigued you deem yourself to be.

Why? Because "more than 80 archives" open their files and folders and cabinets for scholars and history profs and ponderers of the past and SoCalers who just happen to be enthusiastic about their home turf. This means photos and documents and maps and all kinds of info-rich goodies, all for the scrutinizing.

"Larger" and "small" institutions will be represented, as will "private collections." Our tip? Look up what you want first -- say, the early construction of Adams Boulevard -- and then surprise yourself by alighting on some other topic in some other part of the city. Just to build and burnish your amazing local acumen.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., giving you ample time to stop at your daily diner for coffee on the way.

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Seriously, you know when your favorite restaurant first opened, right? Good. Because you're a delver. It's the smaller stories that form the syllabus for Loving-the-Quirks-of-Your-City 101, a class all Angelenos should easily pass.

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