Category Archives: Art & Artists

Rediscovering Los Angeles — The Hopperstead House

Posted on December 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 27, 1936: Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit the Hopperstead home, which was built at Hill and Court streets in 1880. When Turner wrote this column, family members were still living in a portion of the … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

In 1989, Billy Wilder sold much of his art collection. The works are gone, but the auction catalog lives on. If you’re a hard-core Billy Wilder fan (and I am) it’s fun looking through the catalog – I was fortunate … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Einar Petersen and His ‘Aladdin and His Lamp’ Murals

Posted on December 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

One of Einar Petersen’s murals at the Spring Street Guaranty Building and Loan Assn., courtesy of Mary Mallory Fame is fleeting. An individual might go unrecognized while creating great art while alive, only for the works to be considered masterpieces … Continue reading →

Posted in 1928, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Spring Street | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 5, 2013 by lmharnisch

For the steampunk fan on your gift list, you might consider “Walking Your Octopus,” with wonderful illustrations by Brian Kesinger. I had an opportunity to chat with Brian at the Cartoon Expo and scored a signed copy. Available from Brian … Continue reading →

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PROHIBITION ENDS!

Posted on December 5, 2013 by lmharnisch

The Times marks the end of Prohibition with a front page cartoon by Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale, who  quit in 1934 and went to the Examiner in a dispute over The Times’ editorial policies. Dec. 5, 1933: With the passage … Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Art & Artists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files

Posted on December 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

I was given a box of material that was cleaned out of the old press room at the LAPD’s Parker Center headquarters, sometimes called “the cop shop.” The box was a jumble of press releases, photographs, artists’ sketches and other … Continue reading →

Posted in 1965, 1973, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 3, 2013 by lmharnisch

Whenever I’m asked about my favorite books on Los Angeles, my first recommendation is “Nuestro Pueblo,” a selection of features by Times artist Charles Owens and writer Joseph Seewerker that appeared in The Times. I went through all of them … Continue reading →

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Rediscovering Los Angeles — Sam Kee Laundry

Posted on December 3, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 20, 1936: For this installment of Rediscovering Los Angeles, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit a Chinese laundry on Figueroa near Temple. Turner writes: It was a busy hive before John Chinaman cut off his pigtail, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1936, Architecture, Art & Artists, Columnists, Downtown, Film, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

We are being bombarded by stories about Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with videos of long lines at stores and the attendant consumer frenzy. The L.A. Daily Mirror prefers a more subdued approach to buying gifts during the holiday season. … Continue reading →

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Mitchell Leisen — ‘Lioness’ Tamer

Posted on November 28, 2013 by lmharnisch

Nov. 28, 1943:  Rumors of what will be known as the Tehran Conference (Nov. 28-Dec. 1, 1943) of Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin. Opening soon: “In Old Oklahoma,” starring John Wayne, Martha Scott and Albert Dekker, at the Paramount, Hollywood and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles – The U.S. Hotel

Posted on November 26, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 13, 1936: One look and I knew this gem was gone. In fact, even the cross street has been obliterated. The U.S. Hotel was at Main and Market, across from City Hall. Times columnist Timothy Turner writes: “Rapid change … Continue reading →

Posted in 1936, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Main Street, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Movie Posters From Ghana at the Ernie Wolfe Gallery

Posted on November 21, 2013 by lmharnisch

“Return of the Living Dead 3” as interpreted by an artist in Ghana. The Ernie Wolfe Gallery at 1653 Sawtelle Blvd., in West Los Angeles is presenting a show titled “The Horror, The Horror,” curated by Brandon Boyd featuring hand-painted … Continue reading →

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Riot at Tule Lake Internment Camp?

Posted on November 15, 2013 by lmharnisch

Nov. 3-16, 1943: It’s almost impossible to get a clear idea from these stories of what was actually occurring at the internment camp at Tule Lake. Early in the saga, one official said “there’s nothing to it,” but later on … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Comics, World War II | 1 Comment

Rediscovering Los Angeles – Masonic Hall

Posted on November 12, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 30, 1935: For this installment of Rediscovering Los Angeles, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit Los Angeles’ former Masonic Hall, a building from the 1870s on Main street “on the east side just south of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Main Street, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

‘Love Child’ Abandoned in Movie Theater as Parents Die in Suicide Pact

Posted on November 8, 2013 by lmharnisch

Nov. 8, 1933: Los Angeles history is so rich that all you need to strike gold is to poke a stick in the ground, and today is a perfect example. We have the story of Jack Bodin Sr., 41, who … Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, 1936, Art & Artists, Broadway, Comics, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Suicide, Theaters | 4 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles — Pershing Square

Posted on November 5, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 23, 1935: For this installment of Rediscovering Los Angeles, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit Pershing Square. Not the concrete moonscape we know today, designed to repel the homeless, but a lushly landscaped park with a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Art & Artists, Columnists, Downtown, Hill Street, Nuestro Pueblo, Olive, Parks | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rediscovering Los Angeles – the St. Angelo

Posted on October 29, 2013 by lmharnisch

Grand and Temple via Google Street View. In the Dec. 16, 1935, installment of Rediscovering Los Angeles, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit the St. Angelo, on “Grand Avenue just off Temple Street on the northern slope … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles – The Plaza

Posted on October 22, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 9, 1935: For the sixth installment, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy G. Turner visit the old Plaza. Turner says: “Historically, it was never much, never a really Mexican plaza with parking and a kiosk for a municipal … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Art & Artists, Downtown, Nuestro Pueblo, Preservation | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Errol Flynn Named in Paternity Suit

Posted on October 18, 2013 by lmharnisch

Oct. 18, 1943: Los Angeles is in the middle of a paternity suit brought by Shirley Evans Hassau, 21, against Errol Flynn. Hassau charged that Flynn was the father of her daughter Marilyn, who was 3. Hassau was seeking $1,750 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles — El Capricho de los Dorados

Posted on October 15, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 2, 1935: In this installment of Rediscovering Los Angeles, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit El Capricho de los Dorados, a tiny Mexican restaurant on Aliso “below Alameda Street.” Turner says: “These little places are generally … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Architecture, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Downtown, Food and Drink, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Rediscovering Los Angeles — El Capricho de los Dorados