Halloween is a huge thing in L.A.,” says Christina Rice, a senior librarian for the Los Angeles Public Library—and she has proof. She oversees the library’s photo collection—an estimated three to four million snapshots of life in the city, housed on a single floor at the Central Library Downtown. The collection was founded in the 1940s to document the rapidly changing city, and has grown through donations ever since. It includes both major news events and less-major ones, including trick or treating traditions of various neighborhoods.

“The scope of the collection is life in Los Angeles, and that encompasses anything and everything. We don’t care if it’s family snapshots or professional photographs or photojournalism. We just love it all,” says Rice. “I don’t know that I ever say no to a collection. I never know what is going to be of value to somebody doing research.”

To date, the library has digitized about 135,000 of the images, just a tiny portion of the massive collection, which spans from the mid-19th century to 2021. But for those curious about the city, it’s a gold mine. “Every segment of the population uses our photos: children, academics, filmmakers, interior designers, city governments, museums,” says Rice. “People literally see themselves in the collection. We get orders from people who say, ‘That’s me in this photo!’”

Maybe you’ll recognize yourself behind the mask in one of the scores of Halloween photographs in the library’s online collection. Here are a few of our favorites

1920s

Two siblings—Aiko and her brother Isamu—pose in their masks in the yard of their family home on Los Feliz Boulevard near Griffith Park, where their parents ran a flower nursery. This photo, taken in 1925, was collected as part of Shades of L.A., an outreach program the library conducted in the 1990s to diversify its photo collection.
Two siblings—Aiko and her brother Isamu—pose in their masks in the yard of their family home on Los Feliz Boulevard near Griffith Park, where their parents ran a flower nursery. This photo, taken in 1925, was collected as part of Shades of L.A., an outreach program the library conducted in the 1990s to diversify its photo collection. Shades of L.A. Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

1950s

In Panorama City in the San Fernando Valley, Linda (left) and Mary (right) dressed as nuns for the town’s Halloween festivities in 1957.
In Panorama City in the San Fernando Valley, Linda (left) and Mary (right) dressed as nuns for the town’s Halloween festivities in 1957. Shades of L.A. Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

1960s

In Monterey Park in the San Gabriel Valley, Gary (left) and a friend are ready for trick or treating circa 1960.
In Monterey Park in the San Gabriel Valley, Gary (left) and a friend are ready for trick or treating circa 1960. Shades of L.A. Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

1990s

An unnamed boy in a Halloween mask rides the L.A. subway in 1999. This photograph is one of more than 2,500 images contributed by photographer Gary Leonard.
An unnamed boy in a Halloween mask rides the L.A. subway in 1999. This photograph is one of more than 2,500 images contributed by photographer Gary Leonard. Gary Leonard, Los Angeles Photographers Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

2000s

Xin Ling chooses a pumpkin at Tapia Brothers Farm Stand In October 2002. Halloween at the family-owned farm stand is a decades-old Encino tradition, and the Tapia brothers are still growing produce along Burbank Boulevard today.
Xin Ling chooses a pumpkin at Tapia Brothers Farm Stand In October 2002. Halloween at the family-owned farm stand is a decades-old Encino tradition, and the Tapia brothers are still growing produce along Burbank Boulevard today. Gary Leonard, Los Angeles Neighborhoods Collection/Los Angeles Public Library