Author Archives: lmharnisch

Unknown's avatar

About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Fashion Week

Posted on March 24, 2006 by lmharnisch

Clarence Westfall, 22 years old, was taken into custody at San Pedro yesterday afternoon when a boat from San Diego docked. He was arrested for having masqueraded in female attire and was taken to the Central Police Station, where he … Continue reading →

Posted in 1908, 1911, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Fashions, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off on Fashion Week

Blogging the Wolfe Book, Slinging Hash

Posted on March 24, 2006 by lmharnisch

I’m blogging in real time as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob (and were are those pesky thugs, anyway?), the Mogul (missing in action so far) and the Murder That Transfixed (fixed, yes, but transfixed, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Blogging the Wolfe Book, Slinging Hash

A Page From Dickens

Posted on March 23, 2006 by lmharnisch

For some time, the teachers at the Casco Street School had been concerned about the pupils from the nearby Christian Orphanage. But finally the problems became too great to ignore.“One small boy, an especial pet and a delicate child, was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1912, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Education, Food and Drink, LAPD, Pasadena, Religion, Streetcars | Comments Off on A Page From Dickens

Blogging the Wolfe Book, Trying to Make It Real Compared to What

Posted on March 23, 2006 by lmharnisch

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.” Wolfe is using the “Laura” format, in which the anonymous, butchered body is discovered … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Blogging the Wolfe Book, Trying to Make It Real Compared to What

Blogging the Wolfe Book, Family Ties

Posted on March 22, 2006 by lmharnisch

I’m blogging in real time as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files,” more properly titled “Stuff I Scraped Out of ‘Severed’ Thanks to John Gilmore, Who Calls My Book ‘a True Crime Classic’ and ‘Crap’ ” (If … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Acrobats

Posted on March 21, 2006 by lmharnisch

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvp.video.google.com%2Fvideodownload%3Fversion%3D0%26secureurl%3DlwAAAEBwZKJSCLV1FyCOYE1YAMWrPouE5wKbCyZRY8lCyIQoLowu5TeWScVQptvXc6Qoh5jBD1EkPJCGlVG1n4bpXNGh2XxPD_fjWY4mgR1Zy1eXcbTE5kcoPH8ns78r1eH2FbRVLGWnfx8pqoPeqs80yKH67NfXmiJ7Z6Ja0mU3NVlWaA3R18Dv18cbVSevZ1ellKjxDrIIG0D18uE6bhOuNfo%26sigh%3DkwxJKz6zGChG7Q7mpY5EqH-vPec%26begin%3D0%26len%3D122566%26docid%3D696846189715300295&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer%3Fcontentid%3D2473d1209e2ffe3a%26second%3D5%26itag%3Dw320%26urlcreated%3D1142977903%26sigh%3DSOyXHx0gc7hRju_PaUL-cfzmExE&playerId=696846189715300295 Americans at the turn of the century lacked many things, but they had some amazing live entertainment. Here’s a snip of a performance courtesy of Edison Studios, 1904. These guys rock. I have watched them dozens of times now … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Blogging the Wolfe Book, An Army of One

Posted on March 21, 2006 by lmharnisch

I’m blogging in real time as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul (and where is that darn Mogul, anyway?) and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” Wolfe is using the “Laura” format in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Blogging the Wolfe Book, An Army of One

St James Raises a Church

Posted on March 20, 2006 by lmharnisch

The Methodist Episcopal congregation, formed from a merger of the Centennial and Central churches, planned a wonderful new building at 22nd Street and Union. Although the congregation studied the idea of a new location, the members finally decided there was … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off on St James Raises a Church

Blogging the Wolfe Book, Wax On, Wax Off

Posted on March 20, 2006 by lmharnisch

I’m blogging in real time as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files (which have been mostly ignored so far): The Mob (a bit of that), the Mogul (no sign yet and we’re 63 pages into the book) … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Blogging the Wolfe Book, Wax On, Wax Off

Blogging the Wolfe Book, Snooze Alarm

Posted on March 19, 2006 by lmharnisch

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.” Wolfe is using the “Laura” format, in which the anonymous, butchered body is discovered … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Blogging the Wolfe Book, Snooze Alarm

Bright Young Faces

Posted on March 18, 2006 by lmharnisch

“Who was the first man?” asked the teacher of an American boy.“Washington,” was the reply. He was reminded of Adam and observed: “Yes, if you count foreigners.”Henrietta B. Freeman paid a call on a schoolroom somewhere in Los Angeles in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1910, 1912, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Education, LAPD, Music, Streetcars | Comments Off on Bright Young Faces

Blogging the Wolfe Book, Nothing but Compost

Posted on March 18, 2006 by lmharnisch

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.” Wolfe is using the “Laura” format in which the anonymous, butchered body is discovered … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Blogging the Wolfe Book, Nothing but Compost

L.A. Historians Clearing House

Posted on March 18, 2006 by lmharnisch

A researcher writes to say that he is looking for images to accompany a book on African American Los Angeles in the 1940s. I always recommend the following sites for online images of Los Angeles: Archive Org/Wayback Machine California Heritage … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on L.A. Historians Clearing House

Blogging the Wolfe Book, Honored Guests

Posted on March 17, 2006 by lmharnisch

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.” Wolfe is telling the story in “Laura” format in which the anonymous, butchered body … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Blogging the Wolfe Book, Honored Guests

Elijah Washington

Posted on March 17, 2006 by lmharnisch

Elijah Washington died because he didn’t like being called a six-letter word for black people.And a San Bernardino jury decided that Tough Webster had done nothing wrong in killing him, even though Webster’s friends said the slaying was unjustified.On Oct. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Education, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off on Elijah Washington

Blogging the Wolfe Book, Our Far-Flung Correspondents

Posted on March 16, 2006 by lmharnisch

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.” Wolfe is using the “Laura” format in which the anonymous, butchered body is found … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Blogging the Wolfe Book, Our Far-Flung Correspondents

Panoramas of Los Angeles

Posted on March 16, 2006 by lmharnisch

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvp.video.google.com%2Fvideodownload%3Fversion%3D0%26secureurl%3DpAAAAKHhiUpYCQm53irsrf5q7FURGDcBHXL8MU0gBXbiRI_Vzd5EOr-_F9uz178McOQhS4iDk1vgCFQpRjVcP580V0Ou5qTWyRjx4ZKgszV36VtKIM7yCS_blm3ht32MvJeR1paoXgwnI_oTcZdcST4xXSeB2_gk2Upp-u-ji2dpsn9GS6NX6ld_qxGMZ1M2D1SnSuF3_LIfSK3KxW79l_USuXX40pWZGY3g-A5mI4B8ai4N%26sigh%3DFyrfHCWz_TIp7xzK0jHDo3KrrL8%26begin%3D0%26len%3D1373633%26docid%3D7314420685757075146&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer%3Fcontentid%3D8a5b2e8a069ae23f%26second%3D5%26itag%3Dw320%26urlcreated%3D1142495904%26sigh%3D7J5-LjyDNX5EDXwL16KlbCHLIVo&playerId=7314420685757075146 My little ode to my favorite city, covering a roughly 20-year period centered on 1907 with the idea of giving a general introduction to Los Angeles from the 1890s to the eve of World War I. (The Times bombing … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Blogging the Wolfe Book, the Face Is Familiar

Posted on March 15, 2006 by lmharnisch

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.” Wolfe is using the “Laura” format in which the anonymous, butchered body is found … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Blogging the Wolfe Book, the Face Is Familiar

1907: In Which We Begin

Posted on March 15, 2006 by lmharnisch

As I began to write my grand opening about Los Angeles in 1907, I felt a ghostly hand pluck ever so gently at my sleeve. “Promise me, dear boy, you’ll remember to say that women couldn’t vote in 1907.” “Yes, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, 1911, 1914, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, Freeways, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters | Comments Off on 1907: In Which We Begin

L.A. Historians’ Clearing House

Posted on March 15, 2006 by lmharnisch

A researcher writes asking for help with information on an enclave of radicals living in an Echo Park neighborhood nicknamed “Red Hill” and sometimes known as “Red Gulch.”A Proquest search of The Times finds a passing reference in the 1980s, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on L.A. Historians’ Clearing House