Category Archives: 1907

January 24, 1907: L.A. Church May Ordain Woman!

Posted on January 24, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 24, 1907: Belle L. White devoted her life to helping the poor, needy children of Los Angeles. She built a church and school, left it all and began again when the minister turned out to be a crook, and spent her later years fighting with state authorities to stay open. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1909, 1912, 1914, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Education, LAPD, Streetcars | Leave a comment

January 23, 1907: Felix Chavarino — Lemon Fiend

Posted on January 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 23, 1907: Felix Chavarino is addicted to lemons. He was arrested after begging for food in a small restaurant. All he wanted was a lemon. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Food and Drink, LAPD, Streetcars | Leave a comment

January 22, 1907: The Bible Explained — for $1,000

Posted on January 22, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 22, 1907: James Lauer, a self-styled Bible authority, needs $1,000 to publish a book that will explain it all. And apparently in his studies of the Bible, he never found a law against extortion. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars | Leave a comment

January 21, 1907: L.A. Hosts First Car Show on the West Coast

Posted on January 21, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 21, 1907: Los Angeles hosts the first car show in L.A. and the West Coast. The show, at Morley’s Skating Ring on Grand between 9th and 10th, featured 97 gas-powered cars and two electric autos. Dignitaries included Barney Oldfield and Henry Ford, The Times said. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Fashions, LAPD, Religion, Streetcars | Leave a comment

January 19, 1907: A Conductor Throws Caution to the Winds

Posted on January 19, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 19, 1907: At great risk to his health and finances, Harley Hamilton will conduct his Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra in the West Coast premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. The orchestra, which eventually disbanded, was a competitor with the later Los Angeles Philharmonic. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Music, Streetcars, Theaters | Leave a comment

January 17, 1907: The Changing Face of the City

Posted on January 17, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 17, 1907: Man who hadn’t been to Los Angeles since 1848 keeps getting lost. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Real Estate, Streetcars | Leave a comment

January 9, 1907: The Floods

Posted on January 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 9-10, 1907: The worst storm in 23 years blows across Southern California with the force of a gale, dumping more than an inch of rain in Pasadena, killing an Orange County rancher, washing out railroad tracks and collapsing tunnels, and leaving nearly every small ship in Santa Barbara sunk, driven ashore or pounded to pieces. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Downtown, LAPD, Pasadena, San Fernando Valley, Streetcars, Transportation | Comments Off on January 9, 1907: The Floods

January 8, 1907: A Cold Dose of Reality

Posted on January 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 8, 1907: Los Angeles is dealing with a severe coal shortage. Coal was rationed to five sacks per customer and the buyers had pick them up at the coal yard. “The only place that hasn’t complained for the lack of coal is hell.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Food and Drink, LAPD, Pasadena, Photography, Streetcars | Comments Off on January 8, 1907: A Cold Dose of Reality

January 7, 1907: TLC

Posted on January 7, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 7, 1907: Elizabeth Mahler is one of the bright spots at Long Beach Hospital. Though she was engaged, she was courted by a patient’s business partner. The engagement was broken and wedding bells chimed…. Nine years later, divorce court. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Religion, Streetcars | Comments Off on January 7, 1907: TLC

January 5, 1907: A Fatal Can of Beans

Posted on January 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 5, 1907: Food poisoning from aged cans of pork and beans kills three people staying at a mountain cabin. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off on January 5, 1907: A Fatal Can of Beans

January 4, 1907: The Mayor Departs From His Prepared Remarks

Posted on January 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 4, 1907: Mayor-elect Arthur C. Harper lays aside his prepared speech and tells an audience that he would look at every department in city government and that he had complete faith in the Owens River project. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off on January 4, 1907: The Mayor Departs From His Prepared Remarks

December 31, 1907: Old Watchman, Beaten by Robbers, Revealed as Cocaine Addict

Posted on December 31, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 31, 1907: W.H. Reynolds laid out all night after being beaten up and thrown in the weeds by two robbers. Hospital staff found his arms and legs covered with needle marks from where he had injected himself with cocaine. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, LAPD, Medicine, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on December 31, 1907: Old Watchman, Beaten by Robbers, Revealed as Cocaine Addict

December 30, 1907: Old Soldiers of the Civil War, Held as Drunks, Get Free Run of Jail

Posted on December 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 30, 1907: Six Civil War veterans are jailed on charges of being drunk and rowdy in Sawtelle, the settlement outside the gates of the veterans home. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Civil War, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Food and Drink, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on December 30, 1907: Old Soldiers of the Civil War, Held as Drunks, Get Free Run of Jail

December 27, 1907: Oklahoma Lynching — A Grim Record for New State

Posted on December 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 27,1907: Oklahoma records its first lynching since statehood: James Garden. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, African Americans, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on December 27, 1907: Oklahoma Lynching — A Grim Record for New State

December 26, 1907: Minister Rejects New ‘Godless’ U.S. Coins

Posted on December 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 26, 1907: The Rev. W.A. Jones of Knoxville Presbyterian Church refuses the congregation’s gift of $100 because it consists of newly redesigned $20 gold pieces that do not bear the motto “In God We Trust.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, Religion | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on December 26, 1907: Minister Rejects New ‘Godless’ U.S. Coins

December 23, 1907: Shopping Cures Insanity — An Early Test of Retail Therapy

Posted on December 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 23, 1907: Dr. Henry S. Atkins, superintendent of St. Louis’ insane asylum, has found that Christmas is a perfect time to test his theory that shopping cures insanity.
Atkins and two attendants took 60 women from the asylum “into the world of department stores and the activities which all women enjoy,” The Times said. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Medicine | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on December 23, 1907: Shopping Cures Insanity — An Early Test of Retail Therapy

December 22, 1907: For I Was Homeless and You Ran Me In — L.A. Prepares for ‘Hobo Season’

Posted on December 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 22, 1907: Los Angeles prepares for ‘Hobo Season’ with posters warning that the city sentenced the homeless to the chain gang. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on December 22, 1907: For I Was Homeless and You Ran Me In — L.A. Prepares for ‘Hobo Season’

December 21, 1907: Desperate Girl, Alone and Friendless in L.A., Steals $10

Posted on December 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 21, 1907: Lillian Poelk was new to Los Angeles, with no friends and little more than a job as a waitress that didn’t quite cover the rent of her room at 831 S. Hope. “While other girls were getting pretty things and preparing for a pleasant Christmas, she was shut up in a cheerless room,” The Times said. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged , , | Comments Off on December 21, 1907: Desperate Girl, Alone and Friendless in L.A., Steals $10

December 20, 1907: Miracle Doctor Fer-Don Cures Man of 90-Foot Tape Worm!

Posted on December 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 20, 1907: Miracle doctor “The Great Fer-Don” comes to Los Angeles, with ads boasting of his amazing cures. Alas, his health tonic was merely colored water and a felony warrant was issued for him and his wife. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, 1909, LAPD, Medicine, Pasadena, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on December 20, 1907: Miracle Doctor Fer-Don Cures Man of 90-Foot Tape Worm!

December 19, 1907: No, None of It Was His Fault

Posted on December 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 19, 1907: George White isn’t to blame for robbing the Hot Rivet Saloon. He just fell in with the wrong man. And beating up the Army lieutenant, that wasn’t his fault, either. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Photography | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on December 19, 1907: No, None of It Was His Fault