Category Archives: Architecture

Remembering ‘Injun Summer’ – But Not in a Good Way

Posted on October 16, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: Detail of “Injun Summer” (d. 1992), by John T. McCutcheon, once an annual fall tradition of the Chicago Tribune. The old man tells the boy: “Don’t be skeered — hain’t none around here now, leastways no live ones.’” An … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art & Artists, Chicago, Medicine, Museums, Native Americans, Preservation, Transportation | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Nazimova and the Garden of Allah

Posted on October 15, 2011 by lmharnisch

Feb. 10, 1927: The Garden of “Alla” (later changed to Allah) at Sunset Boulevard and Havenhurst Drive. Sunset Boulevard and Havenhurst Drive via Google’s Street View. This postcard showing the home of actress Alla Nazimova has been listed on EBay. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1926, Architecture, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

The Wilshire Bowl, 5665 Wilshire Blvd.

Posted on October 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

A matchbook from the Wilshire Bowl for sale on EBay, listed as Buy It Now for $7.19. Mary Mallory was curious about the Wilshire Bowl, where the Silver Screen Revue was staged in 1941. The bowl, at 5665 Wilshire Blvd., … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Architecture, Art & Artists, Found on EBay, Nightclubs, Preservation | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Found on EBay – Batchelder Tile

Posted on October 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

This truly impressive Batchelder tile, 12 inches square, has been listed on EBay. This is not a pattern that I recall seeing before. Bidding starts at $1,600. As with anything on EBay, an item and vendor should be evaluated thoroughly … Continue reading →

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Restoration at Wilshire Boulevard Temple

Posted on October 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Wilshire Boulevard Temple, interior. Credit: Jim Winstead On the 140th anniversary of the Chicago fire, it’s a time to celebrate the city’s libraries. Rick Kogan explains in the Tribune’s Sidewalks blog. Jay Jones, writing for the Los Angeles Times, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art & Artists, Black Dahlia, Chicago, Crime and Courts, Downtown, History, Interior Design, Libraries, Mary Mallory, Museums, Preservation, Religion | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Restoration at Wilshire Boulevard Temple

John Wayne Gacy Victim to Be Exhumed for DNA Tests

Posted on October 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

Dec. 27, 1978: Four more bodies are found under the home of John Wayne Gacy. Adam Nagourney of the New York Times reports on the slow process of bringing a 21-foot granite boulder to the Los Angeles County Museum of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1978, Architecture, Art & Artists, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Museums, Obituaries, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Found on EBay – Chinatown Wishing Well

Posted on October 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

This image of a wishing well on Broadway in Chinatown built by professor Henry K. Liu has been listed on EBay. If you have looked at Charles Owens and Joe Seewerker’s “Nuestro Pueblo,” (which you really should) you might recall … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Found on EBay, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Chinatown Wishing Well

Found on EBay – Batchelder Tile

Posted on September 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

This Batchelder tile, above  left, showing a pair of peacocks, has been listed on EBay. Interestingly enough, it’s the same pattern as the piece on the right, which I found in Aimee Semple McPherson’s quarters at Angelus Temple on a … Continue reading →

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

Louis Adamic: Cecil B. DeMille – Movie Evangelist

Posted on September 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

The Daily Mirror HQ recently acquired the October 1927 issue of Haldeman-Julius Monthly, which includes Louis Adamic’s “Cecil B. DeMille – Movie Evangelist.” Join him for the premiere of “The King of Kings” the first film shown at Grauman’s Chinese … Continue reading →

Posted in 1927, Architecture, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Religion, Theaters | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Found on EBay – Pin Ton Company

Posted on September 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

A postcard showing the Pin Ton Company Confectionary, 427 S. Broadway, has been listed on EBay. I don’t recall ever hearing of this business or seeing this interior. The store flourished around 1915. Bidding on the postcard starts at $9.99.

Posted in 1915, Architecture, Downtown, Food and Drink, Found on EBay, Interior Design | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Found on EBay – Hotel Lankershim

Posted on September 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

This rather wonderful postcard showing an artist’s conception of what the future might look like has been listed on EBay. Built in 1902, the Hotel Lankershim was often described the city’s largest unreinforced building. After the 1971 Sylmar quake, the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1902, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Found on EBay, Futurism, Preservation | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Clifton’s Closing for $3-Million Renovation [Updated]

Posted on September 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Clifton’s Brookdale Cafeteria. My Los Angeles Times colleague Roger Vincent reports that Clifton’s Brookdale cafeteria is closing Sept. 26 for an extended renovation. [If you haven’t read Mary Mallory’s post on Einar Petersen’s murals at Clifton’s and elsewhere downtown, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Food and Drink | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Found on EBay – New Rosslyn Hotels

Posted on September 16, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: The Rosslyn Hotels at 5th and Main via Google street view. A luggage sticker for the Rosslyn Hotels on Main has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $4.99.

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Found on EBay | Tagged , | 1 Comment

John Wayne Gacy Victim May Be Exhumed

Posted on September 16, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: The last Crown Vic rolls off the Ford assembly line. Leslie Luebbers,the director of the Art Museum at the University of Memphis and head of the Paul Revere William Project will give a lecture on the famed African American … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Architecture, Art & Artists, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Music, Preservation, Transportation | Tagged , , | Comments Off on John Wayne Gacy Victim May Be Exhumed

Cruising Bunker Hill, 1940s

Posted on September 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

Writing for On Bunker Hill, my crime buddy Nathan Marsak has done a breakdown of shots in a 6-minute film that turned up at archive.org. The footage was apparently filmed as background for an unidentified movie. Let’s see if we … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Film, Transportation | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

John Wilkes Booth Site for Sale – Civil War Reenactors Not Included

Posted on September 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Cleydael. Credit: Motley’s Auction and Realty Group. Three historic buildings in Texas’ Bastrop State Park were lost in the recent wildfire, but many other structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps have survived, according to Ben Wear of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1859, Architecture, Crime and Courts, Film, Homicide, Stage, Theaters | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Found on EBay – Mary Louise Tea Room

Posted on August 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

A postcard of the Mary Louise Tea Room, formerly the Mary Elizabeth,  has been listed on EBay. The Mary Louise was originally in the Brack Shops Building, 7th near Grand, and in 1922 moved to the southwest corner of 7th … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Food and Drink, Found on EBay, History, Interior Design | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Found on EBay – Stimson House

Posted on August 23, 2011 by lmharnisch
Posted in 1892, Architecture, Found on EBay, Obituaries | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Found on EBay – Cursed House $666

Posted on August 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

Note: This is funniest EBay entry I have seen in years. Bidding starts at $666. Cursed Land and/or House Five pounds of land removed from the center of the basement of the cursed house. If the bid goes over 80k, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Found on EBay | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Scarlett’s Costumes Nearly ‘Gone With the Wind’

Posted on August 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Crane bathroom fixtures. Credit: Life magazine, April 29, 1957.   We grew up in a sterile, cookie-cutter home, on a sterile, cookie-cutter street, in a sterile suburb of Chicago, where all the people were white and all the bathrooms … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, African Americans, Architecture, Fashion, Film, Futurism, Hollywood, Interior Design, Preservation, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments