Join us for a presentation on why Thomas Jefferson transformed the American West into a mathematical landscape of straight lines and right angles, by mathematician and historian Amir Alexander. 

Schedule

5:30 p.m.| Food and Beverages Available for Purchase 

6 p.m. | Museum Galleries Open

7 p.m. | Talk by Amir Alexander 

7:45 p.m. | Book Signing Liberty's Grid: A Founding Father, a Mathematical Dreamland, and the Shaping of America

9 p.m. | Museum Closes

Autry After Hours | Join the Autry on Thursday evenings as we open our doors at night! Explore the galleries, grab a drink and a bite to eat and discover the diverse array of emerging and established artists, musicians, poets, writers and more who represent the varied and unique communities in and around Los Angeles. Grab your friends, families and neighbors and discover Autry After Hours! 

About Liberty's Grid: A Founding Father, a Mathematical Dreamland, and the Shaping of America

Seen from an airplane, much of the United States appears to be a gridded land of startling uniformity. Perpendicular streets and rectangular fields, all precisely measured and perfectly aligned, turn both urban and rural America into a checkerboard landscape that stretches from horizon to horizon. In evidence throughout the country, but especially the West, the pattern is a hallmark of American life. One might consider it an administrative convenience—an easy way to divide land and lay down streets—but it is not. The colossal grid carved into the North American continent, argues historian and writer Amir Alexander, is a plan redolent with philosophical and political meaning.