1986 - Time Capsule

1986

Burbank mayor Mary Kelsey displays a time capsule at a City Hall ceremony on November 24, 1986. A camera operator and two bystanders are visible. According to the Los Angeles Times, the time capsule had been buried in the cornerstone of old Central Library in 1937 and was damaged when the building was demolished in 1963. It stayed unopened and was virtually forgotten until it was rediscovered in the spring of 1986 in the office closet of Library Director Marcia Richards at the newer Central Library. The unveiling event held in November as part of the city's 75th anniversary Diamond Jubilee Celebration was widely considered a disappointment, as the time capsule contained mostly uninteresting library documents--receipts for library plants, etc.--that had disintegrated over time and from water damage due to "inadequate asbestos wrapping." Richards compared the event to Geraldo Rivera's infamous televised opening of Al Capone's vault. At the City Hall event, Burbank Mayor Mary Kelsey also oversaw the burying of a new capsule that was opened in 2011.

275 E Olive Ave, Burbank, CA 91502

Burbank (Los Angeles County, Calif.)
Time capsules
Kelsey, Mary
Mayors
Women in Politics
City halls
1980s

35 mm b&w negative

Burbank Public Library, Burbank in Focus Office

cco01032

City Clerk's Office