Category Archives: Architecture

Black L.A. 1947: A Guide to the Homes of Famous Black Entertainers

Posted on August 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

Hattie McDaniel’s home at 2203 S. Harvard. Ethel Waters lived almost across the street, the Sentinel said. Via Google Street View. The home of composer William Grant Still, 3670 Cimarron St., via Google Street View. Aug. 21, 1947: Sentinel … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Music | Tagged 1947, African Americans, architecture, film, Hattie McDaniel, hollywood, William Grant Still | Comments Off

July 22, 1947: TV, Jet Engine, Tucker Car on Display at World Inventors Expo

Posted on July 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. First-prize winner at the inventors exposition was Stanley Hiller Jr., who developed a helicopter in which two blades on a single shaft rotated in opposite directions, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Architecture, Transportation | Tagged 1947, Pan-Pacific Auditorium, Tucker | Comments Off

July 22, 1907: L.A. Housing Is Expensive

Posted on July 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

This is an encore post from 2006. Note: $90 a month is $1,847.12 USD 2005.

Posted in 1907, Architecture, Real Estate, Streetcars | Tagged 1907, real estate | Comments Off

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: The Enchanted Hill – Hollywood’s Ultimate Mansion

Posted on July 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Fred Thomson in an undated image. In the early days of the Hollywood film industry, moguls and movie stars lived simply, residing in comfortable but elegant homes. As the business evolved from small companies into large-scale moviemaking factories in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged Beverly Hills, film, Frances Marion, Fred Thomson, hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | 3 Comments

Historic L.A. in ‘Illegal’ | Part 6

Posted on July 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

In the last post on historic Los Angeles in “Illegal,” here are a few nighttime shots of Main Street. At the far right you can see the sign for the Hotel Cecil. The 500 block of South Main Street via … Continue reading →

Posted in 1955, Architecture, Film, Hollywood | Tagged 1955, architecture, film, hollywood, Illegal | 4 Comments

Historic L.A. in ‘Illegal’ | Part 5

Posted on July 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

In this portion of “Illegal,” we have a long chase sequence. I’m not able to identify all the locations so any help would be appreciated.

Posted in 1955, Architecture, Film, Hollywood | Tagged 1955, architecture, film, hollywood, Illegal | 1 Comment

Architecture, Preservation and Noir

Posted on July 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Architecture, murder and hardboiled writing. Do you suppose McCoy had the 1947 Project in mind when he knocked off this forgotten little tale? (Note the first-person … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Architecture, Books and Authors, Preservation | Tagged 1947, architecture, Books and Authors, Horace McCoy, Noir, preservation | Comments Off

The @NYTIMES Can’t Get L.A. Right

Posted on July 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

“California Today,” by Tim Arango and Charles McDermid, presents a strange bit of nonsense: The Mirror (the sister paper of the Los Angeles Times published in the afternoon) folded “partly because the old streetcars went away as the city embraced … Continue reading →

Posted in 1962, 2018, Another Good Story Ruined, Architecture, New York | Tagged #New York Times, 1962, 2018, Another Good Story Ruined, Los Angeles Times Building | 2 Comments

Historic L.A. in ‘Illegal’ | Part 3

Posted on July 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Here’s another shot of the California State Building lobby and the bank of elevators as Hugh Marlowe exits.

Posted in 1955, Architecture, Film, Hollywood | Tagged #Edward G. Robinson, 1955, architecture, California State Building, film, hollywood, Illegal | 2 Comments

Historic L.A. in ‘Illegal’ | Part 2

Posted on July 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Here’s the footprint of the demolished California State Building, as seen from space in 2011 via Google Earth. Our crime buddy Nathan Marsak also took a tour of the remains, posted on SkyscraperPage.com. Here’s a shot of the bank of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1955, Architecture, Film, Hollywood | Tagged 1955, architecture, California State Building, Illegal | 1 Comment

Historic L.A. in ‘Illegal’ | Part 1

Posted on July 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

If you are cursed with the memory of having seen “Gangster Squad,” you may recall this ridiculous shot of Spring Street from City Hall. In last week’s mystery movie, “Illegal” (1955) we have the actual location, now occupied by Grand … Continue reading →

Posted in 1955, Architecture, Film, Hollywood | Tagged 1955, architecture, California State Building, film, hollywood, Illegal, Los Angeles Times Building | 4 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mary Andrews Clark Home Provides Affordable Housing

Posted on June 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

306 Loma Drive, via Google Street View. Long a beautiful site at 306 Loma Drive in Los Angeles, the Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home has been a site of affordable housing for more than 100 years. Built by Sen. William … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged architecture, hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home, Mary Mallory | 3 Comments

June 15, 1947: Visiting the Edgar Kaufmann House in Palm Springs

Posted on June 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Tract developments may be sprawling across the Valley, but The Times’ Sunday Home section for June 15, 1947, features an unusual house designed for the California … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Architecture | Tagged 1947, architecture, Edgar Kaufmann House, Palm Springs, Richard J. Neutra | Comments Off

A Theater Rises on Broadway

Posted on June 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 2, 1907 Los Angeles The Hamburger Department Store announces plans for a theater just south of its new building on South Broadway at 8th Street, designed by the architecture firm of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, Architecture, Broadway, Downtown, Streetcars, Theaters | Tagged 1907, architecture, Broadway, downtown Los Angeles, theaters | Comments Off

May 24, 1947: Where Is the Overell House?

Posted on May 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Of course, all through this period is the sensational case of Bud Gollum and Louise Overell, who were accused of killing her wealthy parents by blowing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Architecture, Crime and Courts | Tagged 1947, Bud Gollum, crime and courts, La Canada Flintridge, Louise Overell | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 6533 Cahuenga Terrace, Designed for a Diva

Posted on May 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

An overhead view of 6533 Cahuenga Terrace, via Google Street View. Hyperbole reigns in the world of real estate listings, inflating a dump into a dream palace or attempting to gild a lily. Nowhere is this more prevalent than around … Continue reading →

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music, Stage | Tagged #opera, 6533 Cahuenga Terrace, architecture, real estate, stage | 6 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Marion Davies’ Santa Monica Beachside Cottage

Posted on May 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

Marion Davies’ beach house, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Hollywood Heritage will celebrate Marion Davies’ birthday with a celebration Sunday, Jan. 22., at 2 p.m. featuring Lara Gabrielle, author of Marion Davies: Captain of Her Soul, and a showing of Zander … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged architecture, hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Comments Off

Black Dahlia: Elizabeth Short Was Last Seen Alive at — Record Scratch

Posted on May 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Wow. Sorry, Uproxx, this is totally wrong. Elizabeth Short was last seen alive at — before you say the Hotel Cecil — she was last seen alive at the Biltmore.

Posted in 1947, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Food and Drink, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, food and drink, Frolic Room, hollywood, Uproxx | Comments Off

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: N. Hollywood Playhouse Promotes Theater in San Fernando Valley

Posted on April 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

The North Hollywood Playhouse in 1962, when “Rebel Without a Cause” was being performed, from the Los Angeles Public Library. In her memoir, actress Teri Garr wrote being in the production. For more than 75 years, North Hollywood … Continue reading →

Posted in 1926, 1962, Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley, Stage | Tagged 1926, 1962, hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, North Hollywood, San Fernando Valley, stage | Comments Off

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywoodland Opens

Posted on April 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. By the early 1920s, real estate development was booming all around Los Angeles. For decades, the city had boldly advertised itself as a mecca in which average citizens could earn their share … Continue reading →

Posted in 1923, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged architecture, hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Mary Mallory, real estate | Comments Off