Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – 1938 Floods Wreak Havoc on Los Angeles Area

Posted on March 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Flooding in North Hollywood, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Seventy-five years ago, a deluge of rain hit Los Angeles and the surrounding area, leading to massive floods and causing millions of dollars … Continue reading →

Posted in 1938, Mary Mallory, Pasadena, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 33 — Pied Type

Posted on March 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. I’m blogging in real time as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” At this point in the story, … Continue reading →

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March 5, 1907: Monrovia Woman Defies Family, Marries Chinese Man and Moves to Hong Kong

Posted on March 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. March 5, 1907 Los Angeles What shall we do with Emma? She’s gone off to New Mexico and married a Chinaman. Her horrified mother hopes to get the marriage annulled, but Emma … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Education, Immigration, LAPD, Photography, Streetcars | Tagged | Comments Off on March 5, 1907: Monrovia Woman Defies Family, Marries Chinese Man and Moves to Hong Kong

Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 32 — Foxy Grandpa

Posted on March 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. I’m blogging in real time as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” We’re at the part of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2006, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 31 — Phoning It In

Posted on March 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. I’m blogging in real time as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” So far we have seen very … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Donald Wolfe, LAPD, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 31 — Phoning It In

March 3, 1907: L.A. Public Library Welcomes Young Readers

Posted on March 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. March 3, 1907 Los Angeles Stroll into the Los Angeles Public Library on Central Avenue with me for a moment, over to the children’s section. The librarian says there are about 15,000 … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 30 — Tick, Tick, Tick

Posted on March 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Page 39 We’re blogging Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” Yesterday, one sentence. Today, let’s try to double that, eh? … Continue reading →

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Page 1 News

Posted on March 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. March 2, 1907 Los Angeles

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Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 29 — Wreck of the Old 97

Posted on March 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Uh-Oh. All I had to do was read the opening line in this section of Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los … Continue reading →

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March 1, 1907: L.A. Businesses Running Out of Space to Dump Garbage

Posted on March 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. March 1, 1907 Los Angeles Downtown businessmen are at a complete loss over what to do with the garbage from their operations and want the city to either take it or designate … Continue reading →

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Black L.A., 1947: Animator George Pal Sponsors Youth Basketball Team

Posted on February 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Feb. 27, 1947: The Sentinel never wrote anything further about the Newton Pals basketball team. The team members were listed as Charles Ward, Louis Augistine, Marion Person, Charles Davis, Henry Morrison, Aroyce Robinson, Ralph Swere, Roland Bundice and James Howard. … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 28 — A Rain Check

Posted on February 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. After spending so much time on Elizabeth Short’s autopsy, Wolfe is heading into autobiographical material. Given all the nonsense surrounding our last foray into the Wolfe household (remember “Uncle Vern” who used … Continue reading →

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Feb. 28, 1907: Edison Crew Cuts Down 300-Year-Old Oak to Keep Power Line Straight

Posted on February 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Feb. 28, 1907 Los Angeles An old and massive California live oak used to mark the division between three Spanish land grants lies in pieces on the ground because an Edison foreman … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Freeways, LAPD, San Fernando Valley, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Feb. 28, 1907: Edison Crew Cuts Down 300-Year-Old Oak to Keep Power Line Straight

Black L.A. 1947: Huge Blast Kills 17, Show Dangers of Industry Moving Into Black Neighborhoods

Posted on February 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Feb. 20, 1947: An aerial view of the devastation from the explosion at the O’Connor Electroplating Corp.,  926 E. Pico Blvd.  Los Angeles Public Library Herald Examiner collection. The site of the O’Connor Electroplating explosion via Google Satellite View. The … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 27 — The Pinata Collecting Our Thoughts

Posted on February 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. The two-minute executive summary: In analyzing Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles,” we have spent the last week on the … Continue reading →

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Feb. 27, 1907: Downtown Fire Kills Secretary Who Stopped to Call Boss

Posted on February 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Feb. 27, 1907 Los Angeles A thick cloud of smoke from a raging fire in the basement swept through the Germain building on South Spring Street at lunch hour, engulfing businessmen and … Continue reading →

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Black L.A., 1947: Husband Suspected of Killing Mary Tate

Posted on February 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Feb. 27, 1947: Terry Tate, of 123 N. San Pedro Street, is arrested in the death of his wife, Mary, at 107 Weller Street, described by the Sentinel as a rooming house or hotel. Tate was strangled and beaten … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on February 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1955 Warner Bros. film “Tall Man Riding,” with Randolph Scott, Dorothy Malone, Peggie Castle, Bill Ching, John Baragrey, Robert Barrat, John Dehner, Paul Richards and Lane Chandler. The screenplay was by Joseph Hoffman, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 37 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Moving Picture Hero of My Heart’ Promotes Movies

Posted on February 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

  From its beginnings, the motion picture industry developed adept advertising and promotional concepts to spread the word of its film products and stars. Quick to develop cross-promotions and partnerships with magazines and newspapers, the film industry grew new fans … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Blogging “Black Dahlia Files” Part 26 — Missing Man Formation

Posted on February 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Our story so far: I am blogging—in real time—as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files.” It’s been slow going and this is an especially tedious part because I’m examining … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Donald Wolfe, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: Blogging “Black Dahlia Files” Part 26 — Missing Man Formation