Sherman Library & Gardens’ Lunch & Lecture Series Presented by South Coast Plaza


FREEWAYTOPIA with Paul Haddad
Meet Paul Haddad, author of Freewaytopia: How Freeways Shaped Los Angeles
Freewaytopia explores how social, economic, political and cultural demands created the web of freeways whose very form – futuristic, majestic, and progressive – perfectly exemplifies the City of Angels. From the Arroyo Seco Parkway, which began construction during the Great Depression, to the Century Freeway, completed in 1993, author Paul Haddad provides an entertaining and thought-provoking history of 527 miles of roadways the comprise the Los Angeles freeway system.
Paul will be selling and signing his book after the talk.
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
11:30 Lunch
12:00pm Talk begins
Free for Members
Past Lecture Recordings

Meet Teresa Sabankaya – Author of The Posy Book
Teresa Sabankaya is one of the most innovative floral designers in the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Area and has exhibited her floral art at numerous museums and flower shows including the Bouquets to Art exhibition at the DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park, the Monterey Museum of Art, and Filoli Mansion and Gardens, a National Trust Historic Site, where she is a regular instructor.
Her love of, or rather obsession with, the language of flowers spawned her creation of the modern-day posy. The posy is her favorite design in florals; a modern spin on a historic nosegay, these “little garden bouquets that tell a story” have a permanent place in her heart.
Teresa is the author of “The Posy Book” A book signing following her lecture.

Jim Folsom, Director Emeritus of The Huntington

A Garden Can Be Anywhere
Tuesday, May 11 @ 2 pm
Virtual Lecture and Q & A presented by Lauri Kranz, Edible Gardens LA
Edible Gardens LA founder Lauri Kranz will share her wisdom and her new book, ‘A Garden Can Be Anywhere: Creating Bountiful and Beautiful Edible Gardens’ in this virtual lecture and Q&A. Discover secrets for planning, planting, growing, and maintaining luscious edible gardens, no matter the setting or size of the plot. Through gorgeous gardens created for her clients, Lauri will reveal her essential methods for growing abundant organic food. Her practical guide is built around the philosophy that nourishment and beauty are not separate goals. It’s also at the forefront of a gardening revolution, where more and more people are craving a patch of land for growing healthy, organic food from their own gardens. A Garden Can Be Anywhere reveals Lauri’s knack for providing both beauty and bounty in her clients’ outdoor spaces.
Lauri Kranz is the founder of Edible Gardens LA, which builds, plants and maintains organic gardens across Los Angeles. Lauri fell in love with gardening when her son’s school needed volunteers and gardening was on the list. Now there isn’t a day that goes by that she doesn’t have her hands in the soil and she’s never been happier. Her client list has grown to include celebrities as well as top restaurants, museums and anyone interested in growing their own food.

The Botanical Collections of the Santa Ana Zoo
Virtual Lecture and Q & A presented by Ethan Fisher, Santa Ana Zoo Director
Wednesday, April 7 @ 2 pm
The 20-acre Santa Ana Zoo opened in 1952 focusing on the animals and plants of Central and South America. In recent years Ethan Fisher and his staff have recognized the untapped potential of the botanical side of the Zoo. In this virtual lecture Ethan will reveal the breadth of their plant collections and talk about his plans to use them as an exciting and important element of the zoo’s future.
Ethan Fisher became Zoo Director at Santa Ana Zoo in 2018. He has a background in biology, business administration and landscaping, and has extensive business experience working in the Zoo and Aquarium Industry. He joined Santa Ana Zoo as Program Coordinator (5years), became Operations Coordinator & Registrar (11 years), until his promotion to Zoo Director.

A Visual Treasure Trove: Sherman Library’s Historic Photograph Collections
March 11, 2021
Virtual Lecture and Q & A presented by Sherman Library Director Paul Wormser
Photographs are unique touchstones to the past. For more than 50 years Sherman Library has collected photographs that document the Pacific Southwest history. The Library’s collections include over 40,000 images from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Paul Wormser, Sherman Library Director, will talk about the Library’s photograph collections and share some of these unique images. He will also demonstrate the use of the new Sherman Library Digital Catalog, which includes many of the library’s most interesting images.