Category Archives: Black Dahlia

Blunder the Double Eagle

Posted on December 26, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 26, 1907Pittsburgh, by direct wire to The TimesAs Christmas celebrations concluded at Knoxville Presbyterian Church, the congregation presented the Rev. W.A. Jones with $100 ($2,052.36 USD 2005). A banker who was among the worshipers made a point of getting … Continue reading →

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Merry Christmas, Gen. Otis

Posted on December 24, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 24, 1907Los Angeles Last-minute shopping, crowded post offices, trees decorated in hotel lobbies and toys given by Santa to the neediest children of the city; it was a Christmas season very much like today. And at Levy’s, 310 Times … Continue reading →

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On the Frontiers of Mental Health

Posted on December 23, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 23, 1907St. Louis, via Direct Wire to The TimesDr. Henry S. Atkins, superintendent of St. Louis’ insane asylum, has found that Christmas is a perfect time to test his theory that shopping cures insanity.Atkins and two attendants took 60 … Continue reading →

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A Mystery Solved

Posted on December 22, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 22, 2006Los AngelesA quick (well, relatively) check of the Sanborn maps (online via the Los Angeles Public Library website) shows (Vol. 11, Sheet 1143) the intersection of McCollum and Berkeley. Alas, the impact crater was not recorded. Apparently all … Continue reading →

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Ecclesiastes 1:9

Posted on December 22, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 22, 1907Los AngelesAs Police Capt. Flammer approached Yuma, Ariz., to take custody of George White, he noticed the smoke of hundreds of campfires made by hobos burning old railroad ties.The hobos, Flammer learned, were avoiding Yuma because the marshal … Continue reading →

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South Hope

Posted on December 21, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 21, 1907Los AngelesLillian Poelk was new to Los Angeles, with no friends and little more than a job as a waitress that didn’t quite cover the rent of her room at 831 S. Hope.“While other girls were getting pretty … Continue reading →

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OMG

Posted on December 20, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 20,1907Los AngelesMr. C.D. Roberts of 1900 E. Main was feeling a bit unwell. He had bad headaches, an irregular appetite, saw dark spots before his eyes and felt as if something in his stomach was alive.Not sure what to … Continue reading →

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It Wasn’t His Fault

Posted on December 19, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 19, 1907Los AngelesWhat you have to understand first about George White is that he isn’t to blame. Oh he’ll take his prison sentence for robbing the Hot Rivet Saloon, 1006 N. Main St., but it’s not his fault; he … Continue reading →

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Whats in That Embalming Fluid?

Posted on December 18, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 18, 1907Los AngelesLos Angeles County Coroner Roy S. Lanterman was arrested on charges of being drunk and disorderly at the Navajo, a bordello run by Ida Hastings, 309 Ord St. Hastings called police, who arrested Lanterman.A Mills Seminary graduate … Continue reading →

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Green Eyes

Posted on December 16, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 16, 1907Los AngelesAnd what ran on the sports pages in 1907? We certainly didn’t have the Lakers. How about a cat show at Chutes Park at Grand and Washington? I can just imagine the reaction of my distinguished colleagues … Continue reading →

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Adios Judy!

Posted on December 16, 2006 by lmharnisch

Judith Regan, the publisher of Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files,” has found a way to make Page 1 of The Times: Get fired by HarperCollins. (The New York Times story is here.) I’m trying not to gloat. But … Continue reading →

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L.A. Rising

Posted on December 15, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 15, 1905Los AngelesAnybody who sets out to study the development of the city’s neighborhoods can expect to do lots of driving. My recent travels have taken me to an obscure area of South Los Angeles to look for 1907-era … Continue reading →

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No Christ in Christmas? Good Lord!

Posted on December 14, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 14, 1907Los AngelesThe madman who calls himself the superintendent of the Los Angeles schools has touched off an absolute firestorm of anger by ordering teachers not to mention Christ during Christmas pageants or other festivities.“The town was agog with … Continue reading →

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Dissecting ‘Messiah’

Posted on December 13, 2006 by lmharnisch

Los AngelesDec. 13, 1907What do we find in music criticism of another era? Let’s take a good look.“ ‘The Messiah’ was presented at Shrine Auditorium by the Apollo Club last night, and the production, which moved expeditiously, apparently gave pleasure … Continue reading →

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Where Children Played

Posted on December 12, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec.12, 1907Los AngelesIn the gritty, industrial heart of the 8th Ward at Holly Street and St. John, officials are planning a large recreation facility “as an oasis in the wilderness,” The Times says. The building, designed by the firm of … Continue reading →

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The .45-Caliber Ombudsman

Posted on December 11, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 12, 1907Los Angeles via the Associated PressGoldfield, Nev.—J. Holtman Buck, editor of the Western Nevada Miner in Mina, Nev., shot Francis L. Burton to death during a fight over a scathing editorial in which Buck said Burton should be … Continue reading →

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Uh-Oh

Posted on December 10, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 10,1907Los AngelesMayor Arthur C. Harper happens to be in all sorts of trouble. He’s telling the newspapers that he has had enough of politics and won’t seek another term. The district attorney is trying to shut down the local … Continue reading →

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Not a Coward

Posted on December 9, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 9, 1907Los AngelesMayor Harper has restored E.J. Bowen to his old job in the Fire Department after the rookie police officer was fired for allegedly being a coward—a charge that Bowen, who is black, blames on racism.Bowen transferred to … Continue reading →

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Whereabouts Unknown

Posted on December 8, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 8, 1907Los AngelesI’ll apologize now, for this is an account with more questions than answers; a story of heartbreak and hope without an ending.The Times features three members of the Schiffman family who are Jewish refugees from Baku, Russia … Continue reading →

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The Confession of Morris Buck

Posted on December 7, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 7, 1907Los Angeles“I asked if she received the letter. She said she had. I asked her if she would loan me a sum of money to be paid back monthly and I was going to open a bakeshop.“She said … Continue reading →

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