Category Archives: Black Dahlia

January 28, 1907: Meet Gen. Homer Lea, L.A.’s Gift to China

Posted on January 28, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 28, 1907: Meet Gen. Homer Lea, whose life was the tale of a poor and badly handicapped boy’s adventures as a leader in an exotic foreign land. Continue reading →

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

Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is February 3

Posted on January 27, 2026 by lmharnisch

Reminder: I will be doing a live Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@lmharnisch) next Tuesday, February 3, at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Have questions? Leave them in the comments. Continue reading →

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January 27, 1907: L.A. Studies Elevated Trolley Line to Ease Traffic

Posted on January 27, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 27, 1907: Pacific Electric experiments with an elevated railway system to ease traffic. The city is faced with bad traffic, “which causes blockades, loss of time to thousands, loss of business to merchants and discomfort to the public,” The Times says. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Downtown, Freeways, Hollywood, LAPD, Streetcars | Leave a comment

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 →

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January 22, 1947: Police Hunt ‘Large Nose Bandit’

Posted on January 22, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 22, 1947: Police hunt “Large Nose Bandit” in bank holdup. Continue reading →

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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 →

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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

Black Dahlia Book Club for January 2026

Posted on January 20, 2026 by lmharnisch

The first session of the Black Dahlia Book Club is on YouTube.com/LMHarnisch. This time, I discussed the October 1948 issue of True Detective, which led to the Leslie Dillon debacle. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1948, Black Dahlia, Black Dahlia Book Club, books, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | 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

Black Dahlia: Trim Your Roses on January 15 to Remember Elizabeth Short

Posted on January 15, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 15: Today is the anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s death. As is the custom, the Daily Mirror will be dark. Trim your roses in her memory. Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia Book Club – True Detective, 1948

Posted on January 13, 2026 by lmharnisch

Starting next week. the Black Dahlia Book Club, discussing what’s been written about the murder of Elizabeth Short. First up is the October 1948 issue of True Detective. Coming January 20 at YouTube.com/LMHarnisch Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia Book Club–Coming Next Week

Posted on January 13, 2026 by lmharnisch

Three quick reminders: The anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s murder is Thursday — be respectful. The Black Dahlia case is not solved, regardless of what you may hear elsewhere. And the Black Dahlia Book Club begins a week from today at YouTube.com/LMHarnisch Continue reading →

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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 →

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Black Dahlia and … Zodiac?? Ask Me Anything, January 2026

Posted on January 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

This month’s Ask Me Anything was devoted to debunking alleged claims (by an “amateur code breaker”) that the Black Dahlia and Zodiac murders were by the same killer. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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 →

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January 4, 1947: Angry Sailor Sets Fire to Skid Row Hotel After Being Rolled

Posted on January 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 4, 1947: 19-year-old mess cook second class Edward Pavlischak is so angry at being rolled for $30 while drunk in a hotel room that he sets fire to the place, killing 1 and injuring 5. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, Fires, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment