Category Archives: Downtown

May 20, 1939: Flocks of Sheep Near City Hall

Posted on May 20, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 20, 1939: Bernard Folco grazes his flock of sheep on hillsides north of Alhambra Boulevard, two miles from City Hall. Continue reading →

Posted in 1939, Downtown | Leave a comment

May 9, 1959: Family Evicted From Chavez Ravine

Posted on May 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 9, 1959: In an encore post, a brief look at the eviction of the Arechiga family from their home in Chavez Ravine. Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Dodgers, Downtown, Environment | Leave a comment

Union Station Opens in Los Angeles, May 1939

Posted on May 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 1939: Los Angeles didn’t get a Union Station without a fight. First proposed in 1907, a unified depot was bitterly opposed by the railroads for decades. Continue reading →

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April 30, 1939: Los Angeles Prepares for Opening of Union Station

Posted on April 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 30, 1939: Los Angeles prepares for the opening of Union Station. Continue reading →

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April 2, 1908: Great White Fleet Out of Tunes, Seeks Songs in the Key of Sea

Posted on April 2, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 2, 1908: Sailors of the Great White Fleet are tired of the same old songs and want something new to sing, maybe “I’m Afraid to Go Home in the Dark.” Continue reading →

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March 30, 1938: Times Opposes U.S. Haven for Jewish Refugees Fleeing Hitler

Posted on March 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 30, 1938: Los Angeles Times opposes U.S. haven for Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler. Continue reading →

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March 22, 1908: Plans for a New Hall of Records

Posted on March 22, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 22, 1908: Los Angeles plans a new Hall of Records. 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 28, 1959: Dodger Dome?

Posted on February 28, 2026 by lmharnisch

February 29, 1959: Could Dodger Stadium be renamed the Dodger Dome? Keith Thursby takes a look. Continue reading →

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February 28, 1959: Ex-Teamsters Boss Sentenced to Prison

Posted on February 28, 2026 by lmharnisch

February 28, 1959: Former Teamsters boss Dave Beck is sentenced to five years in prison. Beck died in 1993 at the age of 99. Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Architecture, Dodgers, Downtown, Front Pages, Obituaries, Sports | Comments Off on February 28, 1959: Ex-Teamsters Boss Sentenced to Prison

Feb. 26, 1938: ‘Snow White’ Inspires ‘Dopey’ Dance

Posted on February 26, 2026 by lmharnisch

February 26, 1938: ‘Snow White’ inspires the ballroom craze: The ‘Dopey’ Dance! Continue reading →

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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 | Comments Off on January 27, 1907: L.A. Studies Elevated Trolley Line to Ease Traffic

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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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