Category Archives: Downtown

January 29, 1934: Did Ancient Lizard Cult Hide Gold Tablets in Tunnels Under L.A.?

Posted on January 29, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 29, 1934: In one of my favorite goofball stories about L.A., an engineer says his radio X-rays reveal massive gold tablets buried under the city in an elaborate network of tunnels dug by the Lizard People, The Times says. Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Downtown | 1 Comment

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 10, 1909: Addicted to Gambling

Posted on January 10, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 10, 1909: Wrecked on the rocks of the betting game! Of how many young men of Los Angeles, who but a few months ago held positions of honor or trust, and are now serving time on the chain gang, is this true? Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1909, Downtown, Fashion, LAPD | Comments Off on January 10, 1909: Addicted to Gambling

January 9, 1913: The Day’s News – Pestilence and Starvation

Posted on January 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 9, 1908: The Times publishes a map of places in the news, showing “troops arriving at the front,” “ship in distress,” “burning building,” “land battle,” “earthquake,” “execution” and “volcano eruption.” The past was definitely not a “kinder, simpler time.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, A Kinder, Simpler Time, Broadway, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Latinos | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on January 9, 1913: The Day’s News – Pestilence and Starvation

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 1, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on January 1, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 1, 1959: Matt Weinstock looks at the origins of the “little old lady from Pasadena.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Downtown, LAPD, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off on January 1, 1959: Matt Weinstock

December 30, 1907: Old Soldiers of the Civil War, Held as Drunks, Get Free Run of Jail

Posted on December 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 30, 1907: Six Civil War veterans are jailed on charges of being drunk and rowdy in Sawtelle, the settlement outside the gates of the veterans home. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Civil War, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Food and Drink, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on December 30, 1907: Old Soldiers of the Civil War, Held as Drunks, Get Free Run of Jail

December 12, 1907: Recreation Center to Be Built in Heart of Industrial District

Posted on December 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 12, 1907: In 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 Hunt, Eager and Burns, will offer an alternative to “those who have no pleasure grounds but the streets and the saloons,” The Times says, noting: “Happy people are nearly always good people.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1910, Architecture, Downtown | Tagged , , | Comments Off on December 12, 1907: Recreation Center to Be Built in Heart of Industrial District

December 4, 1907: Shooting on Baldwin Ranch Raises Tensions Between Chinese, Latino Workers

Posted on December 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 4, 1907: Shooting on Lucky Baldwin’s ranch raises tensions between Chinese and Latino workers. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1914, Crime and Courts, Downtown | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on December 4, 1907: Shooting on Baldwin Ranch Raises Tensions Between Chinese, Latino Workers

November 19, 1960: Gene Autry a Contender in American League Expansion Team

Posted on November 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 19, 1960: Gene Autry is a potential bidder for an American League baseball team hoping to start in Los Angeles in 1961. Continue reading →

Posted in Dodgers, Downtown, Sports | Comments Off on November 19, 1960: Gene Autry a Contender in American League Expansion Team

November 18, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 18, 1959: Sen. Everett Dirksen (R-Ill) responds to taxpayers’ fury over a resolution to take all 100 senators to Hawaii for its statehood ceremonies, Paul Coates writes. Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Downtown, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Parks and Recreation, Paul Coates | Comments Off on November 18, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

November 15, 1907: Charles Mulford Robinson Drafts a Los Angeles of the Future

Posted on November 15, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 15, 1907: Charles Mulford Robinson proposes a grand boulevard for downtown Los Angeles, from a proposed Union Station ending at a new public library and art gallery. And a new City Hall. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Books and Authors, City Hall, Downtown, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | Tagged , , | Comments Off on November 15, 1907: Charles Mulford Robinson Drafts a Los Angeles of the Future

November 14, 1909: Nude Man Prances on Bunker Hill

Posted on November 14, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 14, 1909: Women call police to report a nude man prancing on Bunker Hill — around Angels Flight. But none of them got a good look at him (ahem) and can’t identify him. Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Stage | Comments Off on November 14, 1909: Nude Man Prances on Bunker Hill

Rediscovering Los Angeles: Pennies Arrive in L.A., 1881

Posted on November 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

As some (perhaps only collectors) mourn the passing of the penny, here’s a story about the introduction of the 1-cent coin in 1881. From the Los Angeles Examiner’s ‘Rediscovering Los Angeles,” November 13, 1924, Continue reading →

Posted in 1881, 1886, 1924, Downtown | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Rediscovering Los Angeles: Pennies Arrive in L.A., 1881

November 12, 1941: Crowds Line Broadway for Armistice Day Parade

Posted on November 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 12, 1941: Crowds line Broadway in downtown Los Angeles for the annual Armistice Day parade, which marked the end of what used to be called the Great War or the World War – until we had another one. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, A Kinder, Simpler Time, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , | Comments Off on November 12, 1941: Crowds Line Broadway for Armistice Day Parade

November 9, 1941: Roosevelt Declares Early Thanksgiving

Posted on November 9, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 9, 1941: President Roosevelt moves up the date of Thanksgiving to add an extra week of Christmas shopping. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Columnists, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Religion, World War II | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on November 9, 1941: Roosevelt Declares Early Thanksgiving

November 7, 1947: Santa Makes Second Appearance in Downtown L.A.

Posted on November 7, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 7, 1947: Santa Claus makes his *second* visit to downtown Los Angeles. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Comics, Downtown | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on November 7, 1947: Santa Makes Second Appearance in Downtown L.A.

October 28, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on October 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 28, 1959:  LADIES DAY IN TOKYO:  The flowery era of Madame Butterfly is dying, but not quite dead in the postwar life of Japan, Paul Coates writes, Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Downtown, Paul Coates | Comments Off on October 28, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

October 28, 1938: Mayor investigates honorary LAPD badges

Posted on October 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 28, 1938: Mayor Fletcher Bowron calls for an investigation into so-called juice badges given to celebrities and others by the LAPD. This eventually resulted in an overhaul of the badge to its current design. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, City Hall, Downtown, Front Pages, LAPD, Politics | Comments Off on October 28, 1938: Mayor investigates honorary LAPD badges

October 25, 1943: Restaurant Manager Turns Tables on Robbers

Posted on October 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 25, 1943: Three bandits who hit a handful of businesses met their match at a cafe at 1306 S. Main St. when they tried to hold up assistant manager Joe D. Poindexter. As one man leaned across the counter to get the cash, Poindexter grabbed his gun, chased them as they fled and shot one of them. Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Main Street, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on October 25, 1943: Restaurant Manager Turns Tables on Robbers