Category Archives: Books and Authors

June 3, 1907: Runaway Couple, Aided by Minister, Leave Parents at the Altar

Posted on June 3, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 3,1907: Dr. Harris Garcelon and Genevieve Smith dreaded the large, formal wedding her mother planned for them. After the rehearsal, the Rev. Baker P. Lee performed a small ceremony and the couple ran off to Salt Lake City, leaving Lee to inform Mrs. Smith of the couple’s flight. Continue reading →

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May 30, 1907: Hop Chung, Chinese Laundryman, Presses Zoning Case in Court

Posted on May 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 30, 1907: Hop Chung is arrested for opening a laundry in an area designated residential, but because he isn’t a U.S. citizen, he takes the case to federal court claiming there is no such thing as what we now know as zoning. Continue reading →

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May 23, 1947: Lloyd Osbourne Dies; Inspired Stepfather Robert Louis Stevenson to Write ‘Treasure Island’

Posted on May 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 23, 1947, L.A. Times, Lloyd Osbourne, who as a boy inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write “Treasure Island,” dies in Glendale. Continue reading →

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May 21, 1907: J.G. Fleenor ‘Barefoot Burglar’ Talks!

Posted on May 21, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 21, 1907: In a jailhouse interview before he is taken to San Quentin, James G. Fleenor, the barefoot burglar, sets the record straight on his escapes, his relationship with a white woman and how he began a life of crime. Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia Book Club – Coming May 19, 2026

Posted on May 12, 2026 by lmharnisch

Reminder: I will discuss Jack Webb’s 1958 book “The Badge” and the “Dragnet” radio show in the next session of the Black Dahlia Book Club, Tuesday, May 19, at 10 a.m. Pacific time at http://www.youtube.com/@lmharnisch/streams Continue reading →

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May 1, 1907: Runaway Horses and a Fleeing Motorcyclist on the Dangerous Streets of L.A.

Posted on May 1, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 1, 1907: Miss Gertrude Young, who lives at No. 525 Wall St., was knocked down by a motorcycle yesterday as she stepped from a streetcar at 7th and Hope streets. The rider of the machine hastened away. Miss Young was taken to the Clara Barton Hospital. Continue reading →

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April 29, 1907: Blanche Hall Draws Crowds to Burbank Theater in ‘When Knighthood Was in Flower’

Posted on April 29, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 29, 1907: Blanche Hall’s performance of ‘When Knighthood Was in Flower’ draws a mile-long line of people hoping to buy tickets at the Burbank Theater at Main and 6th Street. Continue reading →

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April 27, 1907: Man Badly Injured in Attack by Mule

Posted on April 27, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 27, 1907: W.S. Stanton was attacked by a vicious mule at the California Truck Company’s stables last night and seriously injured. When he attempted to take the harness off the animal it leaped to one side and kicked him on the thigh, knocking him down, then walked over him, cutting and lacerating the calves of his legs. Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia Book Club for April 2026

Posted on April 21, 2026 by lmharnisch

In the fourth installment of the Black Dahlia Book Club, I looked at the portrayal of Elizabeth Short’s murder in early crime anthologies leading up to Jack Webb’s “The Badge” in 1958. Continue reading →

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March 25, 1907: Young Bike Messengers a Key Part of L.A. Drug, Sex Trade

Posted on March 25, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 25, 1907: Young bike messengers perform an essential service in Los Angeles’ vice trade, providing information on where to buy drugs and where to find women of easy—if any—virtue. Continue reading →

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March 20, 1907: St. James Raises a Church — Burned in 1973 as Hate Crime Against Gays

Posted on March 20, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 20, 1907: St. James Methodist Episcopal Church plans a new building on the site of its current facility. The church was destroyed in 1973 in an apparent hate crime against gays. Continue reading →

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March 18, 1907: In L.A. Schools, Young Ivan and Josefina Learn English

Posted on March 18, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 18, 1907: In this classroom, Onya, Ivan, Josefina and Leah learn to speak English, The Times’ Henrietta B. Freeman reports. Continue reading →

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March 15, 1907: In Which We Begin

Posted on March 15, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 16, 1907: The first post of the 1907 blog that I began March 15, 2006. Twenty years ago! Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia Book Club – Coming March 17, 2026

Posted on March 10, 2026 by lmharnisch

Reminder: The third session of the Black Dahlia Book Club will meet March 17 at 10 a.m. on YouTube. This time I’ll look at a two-part retrospective on the case, published in 1949 in the Los Angeles Mirror in its “Someone Knows! series, and the radio show “Somebody Knows” from 1950. Continue reading →

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March 10, 1907: Religious Leader’s Last Words ‘I Will Return in 1,000 Years’

Posted on March 10, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 10, 1907: The world loses two religious leaders: Mary Baker Eddy and John Alexander Dowie, founder of Zion, Ill. Dowie’s last words were “I will return in a thousand years.” Continue reading →

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March 1, 1907: L.A. Businesses Running Out of Space to Dump Garbage

Posted on March 1, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 1, 1907: Downtown businessmen are at a complete loss over what to do with the garbage from their operations and want the city to either take it or designate a dump they can use. Continue reading →

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February 21, 1907: Mystery Killer Poisons Dogs and Cats in Angeleno Heights

Posted on February 21, 2026 by lmharnisch

February 21, 1907: A mysterious poisoner is killing dogs and cats in Angeleno Heights. The killer preys on purebreds rather than mongrels, The Times says. Continue reading →

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February 18, 2007: Architectural Ramblings

Posted on February 18, 2026 by lmharnisch

February 18, 2007: In exploring neighborhoods from 1907, I visited La Salle Street. Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia Book Club for February 2026

Posted on February 17, 2026 by lmharnisch

The second session of the Black Dahlia Book Club is on YouTube.com/LMHarnisch. This time, I discussed books by four journalists involved in the Black Dahlia case. Continue reading →

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February 17, 1907: Before Staples Center — City Straightens 12th Street

Posted on February 17, 2026 by lmharnisch

February 17, 1907: People on West 12th Street argue about straightening out the street between Main and Hoover. Some say it would raise property values, others counter that it would ruin homes and bring costly assessments. The street was later wiped out and is home to a certain sports arena. Continue reading →

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