Category Archives: Black Dahlia

Note to "Dahlia Avenger" Fans

Posted on December 7, 2006 by lmharnisch

Here’s a publicity still of “Maddy” Comfort from “Kiss Me Deadly” for sale on EBay. Her name is also spelled “Mattie” and “Mady.”Comfort is referred to in the Los Angeles County district attorney’s files on George Hodel. Investigators checking on … Continue reading →

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Shout Out to Nathan

Posted on December 5, 2006 by lmharnisch
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The Price of a Daughter

Posted on December 5, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 5, 1907St. LouisA Los Angeles couple have a novel way of making money: Antonio Thompson and his wife sell their daughter Marie to the Gypsies, then go to court to get her back. According to statements taken in St. … Continue reading →

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Ambush in Arcadia

Posted on December 4, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 4, 1907ArcadiaCharley Chew, the water superintendent on the Lucky Baldwin ranch, had fired two Mexican workers several months ago and one dark night near the Unruh residence, they ambushed him, shooting him in the back. Chew drew his pistol … Continue reading →

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In the Line of Duty

Posted on December 3, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 3, 1907Los AngelesOfficer Patrick Lyons had been on the force for four months when he was shot in the head while trying to arrest two robbers a little after 11 p.m. at Central Avenue and 14th Street.There’s no picture … Continue reading →

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A Vintage Development

Posted on December 2, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 2, 1907Los AngelesThe Times real estate section features an apartment building at 2nd Street and Figueroa—no point in even going to look for it. But there’s also a large ad for the Erkenbrecher Syndicate’s Glendale Valley View Tract.An unknown … Continue reading →

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Just Say No

Posted on December 1, 2006 by lmharnisch
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Our Local Authors

Posted on December 1, 2006 by lmharnisch

Our Local AuthorsDec.1, 1907Los AngelesThe Times runs a small blurb on writer Willis George Emerson, noting that the National Magazine has begun serializing a new story, “The Smoky God.” The Times notes: “The story has to do with the discovery … Continue reading →

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In the Days Before Polonium

Posted on November 30, 2006 by lmharnisch

In the Days Before PoloniumNov. 30, 1907Los AngelesA secret witness in the trial of the Mexican revolutionaries—kept under close guard because his life has been threatened—went into convulsions shortly after eating a meal that apparently contained strychnine.  Trinidad Vasquez, identified by … Continue reading →

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Nathan and I

Posted on November 30, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 30, 2006Los AngelesI don’t think anyone who knows both of us will ever confuse me with Nathan Marask; certainly not when it comes to architectural photography. In fact, I don’t really do architectural photography. I take snapshots of buildings—and … Continue reading →

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Matzo Brawl!

Posted on November 29, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 29, 1907Los AngelesOh Those Shriners: Recall, if you will, the grisly train wreck that killed a large number of Shriners returning from their convention in Los Angeles. It seems that one of them, George F. Hageman, inadvertently touched off … Continue reading →

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Random Shots From Our 12-Bore

Posted on November 28, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 28, 1907Los Angeles Ocean Park banned serving alcohol to soldiers in uniform because drunk Civil War veterans from the soldiers home in Sawtelle “were seen reeling about the saloons.” A racing team preparing for the upcoming hill climb on … Continue reading →

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Who Are Those Guys?

Posted on November 27, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 27, 1907Los Angeles A shadowy, global conspiracy of anarchists is being described in the trial of revolutionaries Ricardo Flores Magon, Antonio Villareal and Librado Rivera in federal court. The fourth defendant, L. Gutierrez De Lara, was charged separately with … Continue reading →

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Roving to Monrovia

Posted on November 25, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 24, 1907Monrovia The Times real estate section takes a look at what was then the distant suburb of Monrovia, 22 miles from downtown Los Angeles. The writer notes the increasing use of concrete and stone, explaining that the cost … Continue reading →

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Slaughter of the Innocent

Posted on November 23, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 23, 1907South Pasadena Warning: This is a grotesque, tragic story with graphic details. Pasadena Detective Wallace H. Copping is investigating the murder of a young baby boy, whose half-eaten body was found in a pigpen on the Berry ranch … Continue reading →

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A Love That Would Not Die

Posted on November 22, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 22, 1907Los Angeles Weeping and heavily bandaged from where her drunk, enraged husband had shot her in the head, Ellen Larkin, 38, rose from her hospital bed, staggered to a nearby room and threw herself into the arms of … Continue reading →

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The Murderous Mother

Posted on November 21, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 21, 1907Los Angeles The woman who threw her baby from an inbound train was arrested at her mother’s home at 12th Street and San Pedro after the girl’s nurse contacted authorities, saying that she read about the incident in … Continue reading →

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Highwaymen Captured

Posted on November 20, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 20, 1907Los Angeles Police battling the current crime wave say they have arrested two men who staged daring holdups on the Ascot Park and Eastlake streetcars, robbing the motormen and conductors as the cars reached the ends of their … Continue reading →

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Crime Wave Sweeps L.A.

Posted on November 19, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 19, 1907Los Angeles An influx of crooks, petty hoodlums and vagrants drawn by good weather and horse racing at Santa Anita are blamed for a siege of crime throughout the city. The jail is so crowded—300 being held in … Continue reading →

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Religious Recycling

Posted on November 18, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 18, 1907South PasadenaCalvary Presbyterian Church at Center (now El Centro) and Fremont was dedicated in a service featuring prominent local religious leaders, including Dr. John Willis Baer, president of Occidental College.The Times notes that the original church building was … Continue reading →

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