Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Centennial Ramblings

Posted on February 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Feb. 5, 2007 Sierra Madre Because it’s celebrating its centennial this month, I paid a visit to Sierra Madre and while savoring a cinnamon dolce latte at the local Starbucks, watched the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Donald Wolfe, LAPD, Photography, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Pressbooks to Sell Movies

Posted on February 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. From the beginning of the motion picture industry, film companies devised all types of advertising to entice consumers to buy movie tickets. Posters, lobby cards and window displays, glass slides, sheet music … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 3 — Extra! Extra!

Posted on February 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore of a post I wrote in 2006. P. 5 Extra! Extra! I was raised on the wrong side of the tracks in Beverly Hills. This is the most marvelously amusing statement. I suppose there are … Continue reading →

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Feb. 4, 1907: Architectural Ramblings — South Pasadena

Posted on February 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2007. Feb. 4, 2007 South Pasadena The Times publishes three architectural drawings of “artistic bungalows” prepared by the firm of Wilson and Barnes. One is being built by W.E. Fox on Columbia … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files,’ Part 2: "The Monster"

Posted on February 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore of a post I wrote in 2006. Page 3 There wasn’t much nightlife in Los Angeles back in the 1940s.

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Black Dahlia: Blogging Donald Wolfe’s ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Begins, Part 1

Posted on February 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. People keep asking me: “Have you read the Wolfe book?” meaning Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” My answer is … Continue reading →

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Feb. 3, 1907: LAPD Officer Kills Homeless Man Who Shot Partner

Posted on February 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2007. Feb. 3, 1907 Los Angeles About 1 a.m. on a dark corner at East Adams and South San Pedro, the hard, shabby life of William Ross ended when he said, “What … Continue reading →

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Feb. 2, 1907: Zoo Operator Charged With Abusing Animals

Posted on February 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2007. Feb. 2, 1907 Los Angeles Conditions at Chutes Park are so bad that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is making a second inspection to see whether operator … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Blogging Donald Wolfe’s ‘Black Dahlia Files,’ an Encore From 2006

Posted on February 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Starting Saturday, I’ll begin reposting all 88 entries that I wrote in 2006 when I blogged in real time as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s awful “The Black Dahlia Files,” a book that refutes Piu Eatwell’s claim in “Black Dahlia, … Continue reading →

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Feb. 1, 1907: A Look at Lynchings

Posted on February 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2007. Feb. 1, 1907 Los Angeles I was all set to write about Leroyxez, “The Human Pincushion,” being nailed to a cross promptly at 4 p.m. at Chutes Park, and then a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars | 1 Comment

Jan. 31, 1947: Herald-Express Publishes Name and Address of Rape Victim

Posted on January 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. It is difficult to believe that there was a time when newspapers published rape victims’ names and addresses, but the Herald-Express had no misgivings about it. Aggie Underwood, … Continue reading →

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Jan. 31, 1907: L.A. Health Officials Fight Legislature’s Bid to Repeal Mandatory Smallpox Shots

Posted on January 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2007. Jan. 31, 1907 Los Angeles Showing once again that Los Angeles is out of touch with Sacramento, local health officials are fighting an education bill that would lift mandatory smallpox vaccinations … Continue reading →

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Jan. 30, 1947: Salesman on Main Street Corner Sets Off Riot

Posted on January 30, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. The rewrite desk in action: The Examiner: Free Cash, Nylons and Gum— Then They Took Him Away! Dollar bills, nylons and bubble gum pelted persons at 6th and … Continue reading →

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Jan. 30, 1907: Driver Abandons Wagon Stuck in Pothole at 1st and Spring

Posted on January 30, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 30, 1907 Los Angeles Recent rains have left the city’s streets in terrible shape, as The Times shows in a photo taken at 1st Street and Spring. This wagon, pulled by … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Four African Americans File for City Council 7th District Race

Posted on January 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Jan. 30, 1947: An ad in the Sentinel announces a preview of a model home in Carver Manor, a housing development designed by Paul R. Williams at 135th Street and Avalon Boulevard. Stanford Avenue in Carver Manor, via Google Street … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1956 Allied Artists film “Crime in the Streets,” a Lindbrook production. With James Whitmore, Sal Mineo, Mark Rydell, Virginia Gregg, Peter Votrian, Will Kuluva, Malcolm Atterbury, Denise Alexander, Dan Terranova, Peter Miller, Steve … Continue reading →

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

Jan. 29, 1947: Thief Steals Box of Rattlers From Snake Expert’s Car

Posted on January 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. Wanted: Thief Who Took 3 Snakes SAN GABRIEL, Jan. 28—Chief Frank L. Carpenter sent out a police broadcast tonight for capture of the boldest and most daring thief … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Du Barry Apartments – S. Charles Lee French Normandy Creation

Posted on January 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

  The Du Barry Apartments via Google Street View. S. Charles Lee’s design for the Du Barry Apartments, March 10, 1929.   Still attracting admiring looks after 89 years, the classy Du Barry Apartments located at 458 S. Catalina St. … Continue reading →

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Jan. 28, 1947: Man Leaps From Top of Empire State Building, Lands on Iowa Woman

Posted on January 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. Yet another of the kind of story that would never see Page 1 of The Times, but was featured on the front of the Examiner, with a picture … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Comics, Suicide | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Jan. 28, 1907: William Jennings Bryan, No Longer a Fiery Orator, Visits L.A.

Posted on January 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 28, 1907 Los Angeles William Jennings Bryan stepped from the Owl train to be greeted by a long-waiting crowd. “In appearance, Mr. Bryan has changed but little since he was last … Continue reading →

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