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1. Who was Harry Omer Peak?

Harry Omer Peak was born in 1959 and grew up in Santa Fe Springs, an hour southeast of Los Angeles. As a child, he participated in minor delinquencies and pranks. Girls liked him because he was charming, funny, and daring. He loved to tell stories. When he finished high school and finished service in the army, he moved to Los Angeles to become an actor. His family thought he had some promising parts, but there were no records of him ever acting in film or television. He was arrested for setting the Los Angeles Central Library on fire.

2. How did Orlean describe the Central Library when she first saw it?

Orlean had expected the Central Library to look like libraries she was familiar with--the New York Public Library and the Cleveland Public Library. She thought the building looked like it had been assembled by a child out of blocks. The building was made of light limestone with black inset windows and a number of small entrances. It was a simple blocky form with bas-relief stone figures on every wall.

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