Category Archives: Art & Artists

An Essay on Peace From 1970

Posted on October 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

I recently received a shipment of several issues of Haldeman-Julius Monthly wrapped in some pages torn from an old Look magazine. (Young persons: Look was a competitor with Life and was one of those big weekly magazines we had around … Continue reading →

Posted in 1970, Art & Artists, Vietnam | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

L.A.’s Traffic Nightmare Threatens Downtown’s Future! Oct. 28, 1941

Posted on October 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

Oct. 28, 1941: Lee Shippey writes about Los Angeles’ congested streets (no, traffic is not a new problem – it’s a very old one that we are still trying to solve). Notice that Shippey says streetcars and automobiles do not … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Obituaries, Streetcars, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Pasadena’s ‘Fork in the Road’ Returns

Posted on October 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

Pasadena’s famous “Fork in the Road” has returned!

Posted in Art & Artists, Pasadena, Transportation | Tagged | Comments Off on Pasadena’s ‘Fork in the Road’ Returns

Court Dispute Highlights Kevorkian’s Artwork

Posted on October 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: Johann Sebastian Bach by Dr. Jack Kevorkian, in one of his paintings that doesn’t involve death and – apparently — wasn’t painted with his own blood. Washington Post education writer and columnist Jay Mathews has an interesting piece on … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Education, Museums, Suicide | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Times to Reopen Globe Lobby!

Posted on October 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Hugo Ballin mural in Los Angeles Times Globe Lobby. Credit: Larry Harnisch/LADailyMirror.com The Times has announced that it will reopen the Globe Lobby on Oct. 24, weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Very cool news.

Posted in Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Marion Eisenmann: Artist’s Notebook

Posted on October 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

“Coke Beetle” by Marion Eisenmann. Marion Eisenmann sends along a sketch she calls “Coke Beetle,” a Volkswagen painted Coca-Cola red that was at the swap meet in Pomona last weekend. Marion originally sent it to me as a black and … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Artist's Notebook, Coming Attractions, Marion Eisenmann, Transportation | Tagged , | Comments Off on Marion Eisenmann: Artist’s Notebook

Franchot Tone Marries Jean Wallace, 1941

Posted on October 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

Oct. 19, 1941: Franchot Tone marries Jean Wallace in Yuma, Ariz. Wallace and Tone divorced in 1948 and in 1951 Tone was badly injured in a fight with Tom Neal at the home of Tone’s ex-fiancee, actress Barbara Payton. Tom … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Tom Treanor | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Franchot Tone Marries Jean Wallace, 1941

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

‘Art Along the Hyphen’ Opens at the Autry

Posted on October 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: Latinas in the New World, a new online exhibit.   Dahleen Glanton, writing in the Chicago Tribune, uses the death of the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth to examine the idea that teaching about the American civil rights movement has been … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Art & Artists, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Latinos, Museums | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

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

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

Woman Jailed for Driving Too Slowly

Posted on October 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

Oct. 7, 1941: You’re probably wondering how fast Blanche Roberts was driving. The story doesn’t say anything more specific than “an exceedingly low rate of speed” on the Calabasas Grade. Apparently no one thought to query the reporter — the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Dodgers, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Woman Jailed for Driving Too Slowly

Killer in 1964 ‘Kitty’ Genovese Case Up for Parole

Posted on October 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

March 28, 1964: New Yorkers shrugged as Catherine “Kitty” Genovese was killed. Winston Moseley, convicted in the infamous 1964 killing of Catherine “Kitty” Genovese, is up for parole and Sam Favate takes a look in the Wall Street Journal’s Law … Continue reading →

Posted in 1964, Art & Artists, Chicago, Crime and Courts, History, Museums, New York | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Killer in 1964 ‘Kitty’ Genovese Case Up for Parole

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

Errol Flynn: ‘Everything Went Black’ in Mocambo Brawl

Posted on October 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

Oct. 1, 1941: Errol Flynn promises he won’t punch Hollywood columnist Jimmie Fidler anymore. The actor invoked the famous “everything went black” defense for the melee at the Mocambo, in which Fidler’s wife stabbed him with a fork.

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

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

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

British Library Digitizes Lewis Carroll’s Original ‘Alice’

Posted on September 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: Page 37 of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures Under Ground,” digitized by the British Library. Henry Chu writes a nondupe in the Los Angeles Times about unsuccessful attempts to gain access to Scotland Yard’s records in the Jack the Ripper … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Immigration, Libraries, Museums | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Columnist’s Wife Stabs Errol Flynn With Fork in Nightclub Brawl!

Posted on September 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 22, 1941: Oh look what I found! Our own Jimmie Fidler mixing it up with Errol Flynn at the Mocambo.  And Fidler’s wife, Bobbe, stabs Flynn with a fork!

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments