Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Silver Starlight of G. Louis Gabaldon

Posted on April 8, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 8, 1957 Paul V. Coates Confidential File I found another hero today, a local boy who made good in battle. What he did on the island of Saipan perhaps equals in achievement and guts any story of any man … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Silver Starlight of G. Louis Gabaldon

Officer-Involved Shooting

Posted on April 8, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 8, 1957 Los Angeles  By Larry Harnisch Off-duty Police Officer Dallas W. Walters, 32, was leaving a Wilmington liquor store at 2 a.m. after visiting the clerk when two young gunmen stepped from the shadows at 1109 W. B … Continue reading →

Posted in Harbor Division, Robberies | Comments Off on Officer-Involved Shooting

Deal Me a Card, HAL

Posted on April 7, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 7, 1957 Los Angeles By Larry Harnisch In a gathering for newsmen, Caltech staged a demonstration of its "electronic brains." Charles Ray showed off the Royal Precision Electronic Computer LGP-30, a 740-pound "desk computer" with 113 vacuum tubes and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957 | Comments Off on Deal Me a Card, HAL

Silk-Stocking Slayer

Posted on April 6, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 6, 1957 Los Angeles By Larry Harnisch Ruth Newgarden Goldsmith, 52, a New York fashion designer, had been dead about 12 hours when she was found after 3:30 p.m. by two maids in a $25-a week room at the … Continue reading →

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April 5, 1957: Twice Burned in Club Mecca Firebombing

Posted on April 5, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 5, 1957 Los Angeles By Larry Harnisch They were a six-pack of juiceheads, daddy-o. Human-torched by lowlifes that wildfired the imagination of young, L.A. bike-roaming James Ellroy, demon dogging the pulp novel city in type-O scarlet and memory napalm. … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1957, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , | 18 Comments

Sorry It Had to Happen This Way

Posted on April 4, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 4, 1957 Los Angeles By Larry Harnisch Sometime in the night, Robert Tunis Palmer, a 27-year-old meatpacker from Marysville, Ohio, sat on the steps of the church at 14th and Union, finished his can of beer, put the muzzle … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Pico-Union, Suicide | 3 Comments

Ovation for Ollie

Posted on April 4, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 3, 1957     If you haven’t taken a look at the Civic Center scenery lately—and many longtime residents boast they haven’t been downtown for years—a surprise awaits you. Except for the public buildings and a few others, it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off on Ovation for Ollie

Postcards From the Past

Posted on March 16, 2007 by lmharnisch

The Hotel Green, Pasadena

Posted in Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | Comments Off on Postcards From the Past

The Bridge

Posted on March 15, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 15, 2007South Pasadena Here’s the Gold Line, its passengers mercifully unaware that they are zipping along to Pasadena in the “Gorge of Eternal Peril” beneath “The Bridge of Death.” Here’s a close-up of a patch made to fix one … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | Tagged | Comments Off on The Bridge

In Which a Ghostly Visitor Returns

Posted on March 15, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 15, 2007Los Angeles “Well, dear boy, I suppose you thought you were through.” “Yes, I did.” “And?” “Good grief! Do you see this bridge over the Gold Line? It looks like it’s held up with hairpins and spit!” “Saliva, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Comics, Education, Immigration, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters, Transportation | Tagged | Comments Off on In Which a Ghostly Visitor Returns

The Celebrity Inteview

Posted on March 14, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 14, 1907Los Angeles Harry C. Carr, future author of “Los Angeles: City of Dreams,” visits Fely Dereyne, who is starring in the San Carlo Opera Company’s touring production of “Carmen.” Accompanied by Times artist Harold R. Coffman, who sketched … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Columnists, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Celebrity Inteview

Farewell, Faithful Companion

Posted on March 12, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 12, 1907Whittier Don had rushed up San Juan Hill with the Rough Riders, fearless in the face of enemy fire. But he could not survive a speeding driver on the otherwise placid streets of Whittier. A present from Teddy … Continue reading →

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Los Angeles Has No History

Posted on March 11, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 24, 1907Los Angeles Google Earth, 2007 lmharnisch.comlmharnisch.blogspot.comE-mail: lmharnisch (AT) gmail.com

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A Tumultuous Season

Posted on March 10, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 10, 1907Los Angeles Someone who opened the Los Angeles Times on this Sunday might be forgiven for wondering what had become of the world, for Page 1 was full of news about the demise of two religious leaders. The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Religion, Streetcars | Tagged | Comments Off on A Tumultuous Season

Random Shots From Our 12-Bore

Posted on March 9, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 9, 1907Los Angeles The Insanity Begins Led by I. Newerf and J.B. Dudley, the automobile owners of Los Angeles are fighting a new city ordinance that bans parking within 40 of downtown intersections. Newerf, the West Coast representative of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1909, 1910, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Downtown, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged | Comments Off on Random Shots From Our 12-Bore

It Was a Kinder, Simpler Time…

Posted on March 8, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 8, 1907Los Angeles lmharnisch.comlmharnisch.blogspot.comE-mail: lmharnisch (AT) gmail.com

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Forget Bird Flu, This Is Serious

Posted on March 7, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 7, 1907Los Angeles A dreadful disease called acute glanders has been discovered in a horse and veterinarian R.J. Ramage ordered that the animal be destroyed immediately. In addition to rapidly causing death, acute glanders can be spread from horses … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | Tagged | Comments Off on Forget Bird Flu, This Is Serious

Belles Are Ringing!

Posted on March 6, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 6, 2007San Francisco (VIA Associated Press) The Irish of San Francisco are furious over a play at the Davis Theater called “The Belle of Avenue A,” which features a character named Mrs. McCluskey who drinks a glass of beer … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters | Tagged | Comments Off on Belles Are Ringing!

An Independent Woman

Posted on March 5, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 5, 1907Los 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 is an independent-minded young lady. Emma’s mother, Mary Culver … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Education, Immigration, LAPD, Photography, Streetcars | Tagged | Comments Off on An Independent Woman

A Page From the Past

Posted on March 3, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 3, 1907Los 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 to 16,000 books, only half of what is needed, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Education, Fashions, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged | Comments Off on A Page From the Past