Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + +)

Posted on October 7, 2013 by lmharnisch

And for Monday, a couple of mystery guests!

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

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

Posted on October 7, 2013 by lmharnisch

Flooding in North Hollywood, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Seventy-five years ago, a deluge of rain hit Los Angeles and the surrounding area, leading to massive floods and causing millions of dollars in damage and a devastating loss of life. Many … Continue reading →

Posted in 1938, Mary Mallory, Pasadena, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – 1938 Floods Wreak Havoc on Los Angeles Area

Batchelder Tiles

Posted on October 6, 2013 by lmharnisch

These quite unusual Batchelder tiles have been listed on EBay. In the years I’ve been watching for Batchelder tiles, I can’t say I have ever seen anything like these. Bidding on the upper tile, featuring a man apparently playing the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art & Artists, Batchelder Tile, Found on EBay, Pasadena | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Curious Dreamer

Posted on October 5, 2013 by lmharnisch

Note: Here’s an entry I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. I thought newer readers might enjoy it. Oct. 5, 1907 Los Angeles Hilliard Stricklin is a man with an urgent desire to do something for his fellow African Americans. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, African Americans | Comments Off on Curious Dreamer

October 4, 1943: American Troops Enter Bomb-Shattered Naples

Posted on October 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

October 4, 1943: Tom Treanor, who will be killed in a Jeep accident in France, writes about the liberation of Naples. “The Germans left Naples in a truly deplorable condition. In a huge hospital for incurables I myself saw 70 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Main Street, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dining at the Van Nuys Hotel

Posted on October 3, 2013 by lmharnisch

Last month, I posted an image of the Cafe Bristol in the basement of the Hellman Building. Here’s another postcard, stamped 1911, of a downtown restaurant: the cafe at the Van Nuys Hotel at 4th and Main streets. The card … Continue reading →

Posted in 1911, Downtown, Food and Drink, Found on EBay, Main Street | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ – Part 2

Posted on October 3, 2013 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, we’re looking at the strange, unsolved killing of movie actor David G.G. Bacon in September 1943.  Because he appeared in Republic’s “Masked Marvel” serial, shown above, I’m calling it the “Masked Marvel Murder.” In … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

LAPD Photo on EBay From 1884 – To Collect and to Serve

Posted on October 2, 2013 by lmharnisch

An EBay vendor has listed this collection of cabinet cards dated 1884 showing LAPD officers. The vendor is also offering other clippings and ephemera linked to William  Ernst Stoermer. Stoermer, who died in 1932, was also a firefighter and a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1884, Found on EBay, History, LAPD, Obituaries, Photography, Preservation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on LAPD Photo on EBay From 1884 – To Collect and to Serve

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ – Part 1

Posted on October 2, 2013 by lmharnisch

David Bacon in “The Masked Marvel.” David G.G. Bacon died on the afternoon of Sept. 12, 1943, at the age of 29 with many secrets: A secret diary kept in code, coded annotations in his address book and most of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | 9 Comments

A Bit of Old Hawaii From Bullock’s Wilshire

Posted on October 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

This Hawaiian shirt made by Kahala and sold by Bullock’s Wilshire has been listed on EBay. In the years I have been following vintage clothing from Bullock’s (later Bullocks), I have never seen a Hawaiian shirt. Even so, the price … Continue reading →

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Rediscovering Los Angeles – Aliso and Alameda

Posted on October 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

Nov. 18, 1935: This is the third installment in the Rediscovering Los Angeles series, featuring Charles Owens’ artwork and text by Times columnist Timothy Turner. Unlike the later Nuestro Pueblo series by Owens and Joe Seewerker, these entries were never … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Nuestro Pueblo, Preservation, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Rediscovering Los Angeles – Aliso and Alameda

Remembering A.C. Lyles

Posted on September 30, 2013 by lmharnisch

News sources are reporting the death of longtime Paramount producer A.C. Lyles, who died Friday at the age of 95. I interviewed him back in 1997 about old Los Angeles and recently digitized the tape, so I’ll be posting excerpts … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Remembering A.C. Lyles

A Note to Commenters

Posted on September 30, 2013 by lmharnisch

It may be worthwhile to point out in these days of heightened focus on Internet privacy that there isn’t as much anonymity as one might think. This is particularly true for commenters on L.A. Daily Mirror posts or indeed for … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo – Newsboy Cap Edition XII (Updated + + +)

Posted on September 30, 2013 by lmharnisch

This week’s movie was going to be a Western especially for Don Danard, but the DVD got vapor lock. Perhaps it will return another week if it learns to behave itself. In the meantime we have a movie with, yes, … Continue reading →

Posted in Fashion, Film, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , | 26 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — ‘Spirit of ’76’ as Propaganda

Posted on September 30, 2013 by lmharnisch

A still from the lost film “Spirit of ‘76” from Moving Picture World.   The United States’ Espionage Act was ratified in 1917 to punish those abetting the enemy, promoting military insubordination, or interfering with recruitment. Over the years, it … Continue reading →

Posted in 1917, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, World War I | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

L.A. Becomes New York – Again

Posted on September 28, 2013 by lmharnisch

How much from downtown L.A. to JFK? Yes, they were filming around “New York Street” on Thursday and providing color with fake New York taxis.

Posted in Downtown, Film, New York, Spring Street | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on L.A. Becomes New York – Again

Scr*w You, Steve Needleman

Posted on September 28, 2013 by lmharnisch

If Steve Needleman, owner of the Orpheum Theatre, wanted  “a  two-story, 10,400-square-foot Cape Cod Revival house” he could have purchased an entire block of 1950s Valley tract homes and leveled them. No one would have cared. But tearing down Ira … Continue reading →

Posted in Broadway, Downtown, Preservation, San Fernando Valley, Theaters | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Why Can’t Anybody Get L.A. History Right?

Posted on September 27, 2013 by lmharnisch

The Times magazine magically transports San Francisco’s St. Francis Hotel  to Los Angeles! Ignorance about Los Angeles history is, alas, all around us. But imagine my dismay to discover this gaffe by The Times magazine –a separate publication by the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1921, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Married Couple Held in Blackmail of Single Woman for $27,000

Posted on September 27, 2013 by lmharnisch

Sept. 27, 1963: I always thought blackmail was something that only occurred in old Perry Mason episodes, but here’s an actual case and it’s quite strange. It involves a married man blackmailing a single woman. No really! According to a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Animals, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Married Couple Held in Blackmail of Single Woman for $27,000

D.W. Griffith Before Hollywood

Posted on September 26, 2013 by lmharnisch

Note: Gary Martin, one of the Daily Mirror regulars, attended a special showing at the Neversink Valley Museum of History and Innovation of early D.W. Griffith films in 1909-10 shot at Cuddeback, N.Y., and files a guest post for all … Continue reading →

Posted in 1909, 1910, Film | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments