Category Archives: Black Dahlia

Meet Victor Segno — L.A. Mystic and Con Man

Posted on January 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 15, 2007 Los Angeles While making my daily check of EBay, I found another envelope from 1907, this one addressed to A. Victor Segno, 701 N. Belmont. A brief check of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, 1911, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Education, Found on EBay, LAPD, Streetcars | 1 Comment

At the Del

Posted on January 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007.

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Not in My Back Yard

Posted on January 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 13, 1907 Los Angeles The Times takes a light, humorous look at the destructive wanderings of Eaton Wash: a docile stream, if not entirely dry, most of the year, turned into … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Streetcars | 1 Comment

1907: Last Rites for an Early Church

Posted on January 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 12, 1907 El Monte For half a century, the Baptist Church of El Monte and the Mason’s Lexington Lodge No. 104 shared a clapboard building on Main Street, the worshipers on … Continue reading →

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Jan. 11, 1907: USC Medical School Cadavers Found in Garbage Dump

Posted on January 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 11, 1907 Los Angeles A woman living on a hog ranch near the Santa Fe railroad crossing over the Los Angeles River contacted police after seeing dismembered human bodies in the … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: ‘Who Is the Black Dahlia?’ Script on Craigslist

Posted on January 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Someone on Craigslist has listed a copy of the shooting script for “Who Is the Black Dahlia?” the TV movie that featured Lucie Arnaz as Elizabeth Short and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Detective Harry Hansen (with an amusing turn by … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1974, 1975, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Floods

Posted on January 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 9-10, 1907 The worst storm in 23 years blew across Southern California with the force of a gale, dumping more than an inch of rain in Pasadena, killing an Orange County … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Downtown, LAPD, Pasadena, San Fernando Valley, Streetcars, Transportation | Comments Off on The Floods

A Cold Dose of Reality

Posted on January 8, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 8, 1907 Los Angeles Perhaps Mayor Arthur C. Harper and the incoming slate of officials are focused on how they will divide the spoils of the city and assign patronage jobs, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Food and Drink, LAPD, Pasadena, Photography, Streetcars | Comments Off on A Cold Dose of Reality

TLC

Posted on January 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 7, 1907 Long Beach Elizabeth Mahler, a dainty brunette with a “sunny and jolly disposition,” is one of the bright spots at Long Beach Hospital. She had many male suitors and … Continue reading →

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Architectural Ramblings

Posted on January 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

A Trip to Oxford Avenue Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Here’s an interesting contrast: Oxford Avenue between Washington Boulevard and the Santa Monica Freeway and Oxford Avenue north of Washington. South of Washington, Oxford seems a bit … Continue reading →

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Engine Company 10 Weeps

Posted on January 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 6, 1907 Los Angeles The Los Angeles Fireman’s Relief Association is staging a benefit for the young widow of ladderman Adolph Hermansen, who plunged out a window and fell five stories … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars | 1 Comment

A Fatal Can of Beans

Posted on January 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 5, 1907 Los Angeles Charles Edward Abbott, 23, of Artesia had lived his entire life in California without seeing snow except on faraway mountains and suggested that Mabel Carter, 28, and … Continue reading →

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

Posted on January 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947Project. Jan. 4, 1947: Suppose, for a moment, that you are a 19-year-old mess cook second class stationed in San Pedro. Suppose further that while you are on leave … Continue reading →

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

The Mayor Departs From His Prepared Remarks

Posted on January 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 4, 1907 Los Angeles Mayor-elect Arthur C. Harper stood before 200 members of the Municipal League and their friends in a dinner at Levy’s who were eager to hear what he … Continue reading →

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Some Nice Boring Statistics

Posted on January 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 2, 1907 Los Angeles Some diligent soul at The Times dug through the number of marriage licenses and divorces and put together a small story that traced the city’s growth through … Continue reading →

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Alive!

Posted on January 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Dec. 7, 1906-Dec. 22, 1906, Bakersfield Jan. 1, 1907 Los Angeles For 15 days, miner Lindsay P. Hicks lay trapped by a cave-in that killed his five companions tunneling in a mountain … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: A Two-Year Update and a Look Ahead

Posted on December 26, 2017 by lmharnisch

The second anniversary of my retirement from the Los Angeles Times coincided with lots of questions prompted by a Fox News piece on Piu Eatwell’s “Black Dahlia, Red Rose.” Even though I had blogged about the book repeatedly, people still … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1947, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, History | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: 5 Reasons Leslie Dillon Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short

Posted on December 22, 2017 by lmharnisch

Leslie Dillon in an undated photo, probably taken in the late 1940s.   My inbox is exploding with alerts about Piu Eatwell “solving” the Black Dahlia case by attributing it to Leslie Duane Dillon. Here are five simple reasons that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2017, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Formosa Cafe and Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on December 20, 2017 by lmharnisch

My inbox exploded this morning with alerts about the Black Dahlia and links leading to an essay in the Los Angeles Times by David Ulin, writing about the Formosa Cafe (which he calls “the Formosa” – a gaffe nobody bothered … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: The Biltmore Hotel, Ghost Hunting and Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on October 31, 2017 by lmharnisch

I think we have found one presumably young and aspiring reporter who apparently believes in doing absolutely no research whatsoever.

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments