VES LA: Tour DTLA Central Library + Octavia Lab / Community Care Drive

Saturday, May 2 | 1:00 PM

2026 / 05 / 01: Update: Docent Tour Cancelled — Makerspace Visit & Community Care Drive Still On

Due to an unforeseen cancellation, the docent-led architectural tour has been postponed and will be rescheduled. We apologize for the short notice.

If you had planned to attend and would still like to meet up, the Octavia Lab makerspace visit and Community Care Drive are going ahead as planned at 1:00 PM. Please email Sarah McGrail to let her know you’re coming so she knows who to wait for.(Look for an email to everyone on the RSVP & Waitlist). Grand Central Market lunch afterward is still on the table too.

Stay tuned for a new date for the full architectural tour of the Goodhue Building.

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Join your fellow VES LA members for a behind-the-scenes look at one of downtown’s most architecturally stunning and historically rich landmarks, the Los Angeles Central Library. Our docent-led tour will cover the building’s striking architecture, its murals and public art, and the library’s storied history.Then we head downstairs to the Octavia Lab, named after pioneering science fiction author Octavia E. Butler, who wrote her first novel here.

The lab offers free access to tools including 3D printers, 3D scanners, sewing machines, a podcast and livestream studio, a photography studio with green screen, laser cutters, a vinyl cutter, a CNC mill, digital media stations with Adobe Creative Cloud, and a DIY Memory Lab with equipment to digitize analog film, VHS, Super 8, and audio. If you’ve ever wanted a place to prototype a prop, digitize archival footage, or spin up a side project, this is it!

After the tour, anyone interested is welcome to walk over to Grand Central Market for a bite to eat. VES Members and guests welcome. Free to attend. 
Pets not allowed. Service Animals permitted. For ADA accommodations, please call (213) 228-7430 at least 72 hours prior to the event.

Validated Parking is available for $1 in the garage at 524 South Flower Street.

Community Care Drive: Emergency Whistle + Food Collection

We’re collecting 3D printed safety whistles at this event to give to vulnerable community members. A link to the file will be shared with attendees via Email. Print and bring as many as you like. Prefer a different way to help? Nonperishable food donations are also welcome and can be brought to the parking structure after the event (Board member Sarah McGrail will be collecting for distribution).