Category Archives: City Hall

LAPD Chief Wants More Police; Terrible Traffic – 1913

Posted on April 3, 2013 by

April 3, 1913: That is author L. Frank Baum and composer Louis F. Gottschalk, the team behind “The Tik-Tok Man of Oz,” which was a blockbuster in Los Angeles. The Times said it “is the reigning sensation of the local … Continue reading →

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Posted in 1913, Books and Authors, City Hall, LAPD, Stage, Streetcars, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Land Bargain in L.A.: 50 Cents an Acre!

Posted on April 2, 2013 by

Read the entire edition online at USC, scanned from a copy at the Huntington Library. March 28, 1863: The city of Los Angeles is selling 2,000 acres “within the eastern boundary of the city” at a minimum price of 50 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, City Hall, Civil War, Native Americans | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Pray for Me, I’m Going to See ‘Gangster Squad’

Posted on January 11, 2013 by

I am heading  off to see “Gangster Squad” this morning, not because I expect it to be good, but because I expect it to be very, very bad, as already reflected by the first reviews and the trailers. I have … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Black Dahlia, City Hall, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Westlake Park Renamed in Tribute to Gen. MacArthur

Posted on June 12, 2012 by

June 13, 1942:Westlake Park is being renamed as part of the city’s observances to honor Gen. Douglas MacArthur, commemorating the day he entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Marines at Camp Elliott are shocked to see women … … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, City Hall, Comics, Parks, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

L.A. County, City Fire All Japanese Workers!

Posted on January 28, 2012 by

Jan. 28, 1942: Buried on the jump of this story is the news that the city of Los Angeles urged all Japanese employees to take a leave of absence “for the duration.” Those who refused to quit were suspended. The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on December 19, 2011 by

Los Angeles City Hall is in the background. Where was this shot and what’s the movie?

Posted in Architecture, City Hall, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Location Sleuth – ‘Between Midnight and Dawn’

Posted on December 11, 2011 by

Hey, it’s the Florentine Gardens! Here it is via Google’s Street View. I was watching the 1950 Columbia film “Between Midnight and Dawn” and several locations caught my eye. The first one is an aerial view during the credits that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950, Architecture, City Hall, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Location Sleuth | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Japan Ready to Reject U.S. Terms

Posted on December 5, 2011 by

Dec. 5, 1941: There’s almost too much interesting news on Pearl Harbor Day minus 2. Josephine Trout Barnes is reunited with her baby girl Camelia/Camellia/Carmelia (newspapers in the Linotype era sometimes had a fluid sense of spelling when it came … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Books and Authors, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Tom Treanor, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

L.A. Detectives Meet New York Mobster’s Plane at Burbank Airport

Posted on November 8, 2011 by

Nov. 8, 1941: Waxey Gordon, whose real name was Irving Wexler (d. 1952, Alcatraz), lands at Lockheed Air Terminal (now Burbank Airport), where he is greeted by detectives from the district attorney’s office, the LAPD and airport police. Gordon, accompanied … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Aviation, Chicago, City Hall, LAPD, San Francisco, Suicide, Theaters, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Los Angeles City Hall, Sept. 11, 2011

Posted on September 11, 2011 by

Photo: City Hall, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011. Credit: Larry Harnisch/LADailyMirror.com

Posted in City Hall, Downtown, Photography | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Sept. 4, 1781: Los Angeles Is Founded

Posted on September 4, 2011 by

  Sept. 4, 1926:The Times publishes a map showing the streets of the day, noting the changes made since Ord’s survey. Sept. 4, 1981: Mayor Tom Bradley and actress Bernadette Peters cut the cake for Los Angeles’ 200th birthday Jan. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1781, 1926, 1981, City Hall, Downtown | Tagged , | Leave a comment

‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Part 7

Posted on August 30, 2011 by

Photo: June 8, 1943 — A mob of servicemen stop a streetcar on Main Street to remove a passenger wearing a zoot suit. Here’s a second radio address by Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron, delivered June 16, 1943, on the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Latinos, Radio, San Francisco, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Part 6

Posted on August 2, 2011 by

Image: Los Angeles Conservancy’s Last Remaining Seats Program for “Zoot Suit” Credit: Jose Legaspi In Part 5, we looked at the story of Joe Dacy Coleman, “patient zero” in the Zoot Suit Riots, which led to a report at the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, African Americans, Black Dahlia, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Latinos, Libraries, Stage, Streetcars, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Coming Tomorrow: Marion Eisenmann

Posted on July 20, 2011 by

City Hall, July 3, 2009, by Marion Eisenmann I’m going to be reposting the artwork Marion Eisenmann did for the Daily Mirror when it was with the L.A. Times. Tomorrow’s sketch will feature Olvera Street. You can contact Marion here.

Posted in 2009, Art & Artists, Artist's Notebook, City Hall, Marion Eisenmann | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Coming Attractions: Broadway Theater Tour

Posted on June 23, 2011 by

The Palace Theater, 630 S. Broadway, via Google maps’ street view. Eric Richardson of Blogdowntown reports that the 1911 Palace Theatre, 630 S. Broadway, will be open for self-guided tours from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m on Saturday, June 25, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1911, Architecture, City Hall, Coming Attractions, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Theaters | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Architectural Rambling – The Van Griffith Estate

Posted on June 22, 2011 by

The Times Sunday Business section featured the former home of Van M. Griffith (d. 1974), the son of Griffith Park donor Colonel Griffith J. Griffith.  (For some reason, the early stories in The Times refer to him as “Dan Griffith” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1925, Architecture, City Hall, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Obituaries, Politics, Real Estate, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Los Angeles Tattoo Shops, 1943

Posted on June 17, 2011 by

This is one of my favorite discoveries from the city archives, a description of tattoo shops in Los Angeles by an anonymous citizen. Los Angeles City Council File 15670 September 2, 1943 Dear Sir, I recently made an investigation of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Libraries, Photography, World War II | 5 Comments

Heresy on L.A. Streetcars!

Posted on June 15, 2011 by

My hair (or what’s left of it) stood on end when I read this portion of Tim Rutten’s column on Wednesday about Rick Caruso’s mayoral campaign: Mythology has it that the old Red Cars were killed by a conspiracy, but … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Columnists, Downtown, Politics, Transportation | 7 Comments

Twin Celebrations

Posted on February 13, 2007 by

Feb.13, 1907Los Angeles An enormous masked ball for the city’s elite was staged on Mardi Gras at Kramer’s Studio and Dancing Academy, 1500 S. Figueroa. Kramer’s Hall, as it was informally known. The Times, in a rare bylined article—by Katherine … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, LAPD, Music, Streetcars | Leave a comment

Speaking of City Hall

Posted on January 5, 2007 by

Here’s one of my favorite views of Los Angeles: City Hall at night with the Lindbergh Beacon.

Posted in Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, LAPD, Streetcars | Leave a comment