Category Archives: Downtown

Downtown Los Angeles: Broadway

Posted on October 18, 2013 by lmharnisch

This postcard, marked 1909, showing Broadway, looking north just below 4th Street, has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $8.95. And for comparison, here’s what it looks like on Google Street View. Let’s take a closer look.

Posted in Broadway, City Hall, Downtown, Found on EBay, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged #EBay, #Traffic, Broadway, City Hall, downtown, Streetcars | 2 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles — El Capricho de los Dorados

Posted on October 15, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 2, 1935: In this installment of Rediscovering Los Angeles, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit El Capricho de los Dorados, a tiny Mexican restaurant on Aliso “below Alameda Street.” Turner says: “These little places are generally … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Architecture, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Downtown, Food and Drink, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged #Charles Owens, 1935, Books and Authors, downtown, Rediscovering Los Angeles, Timothy Turner | Comments Off

Times Building Bombed by Labor Radicals – 1910

Posted on October 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

A photograph showing the bombed-out ruins of the Los Angeles Times Building has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $5. By the way, I am tardy in writing about Lew Irwin’s book on The Times bombing. Lew is a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1910, Broadway, Downtown, Found on EBay, Photography | Tagged #EBay, #Times bombing, 1910, downtown | 1 Comment

‘The Clansman’ Comes to Los Angeles – 1908

Posted on October 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

A 1908 program from the Mason Opera House has been listed on EBay with an ad for an upcoming production of “The Clansman,” a play adapted from Thomas Dixon’s novels “The Leopard’s Spots” and “The Clansman” and turned into D.W. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1908, African Americans, Books and Authors, Broadway, Downtown, Film, Found on EBay, Stage | Tagged 1908, Birth of a Nation, Broadway, downtown, film, movies, Theater | 5 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles – The Old Livery Stable

Posted on October 8, 2013 by lmharnisch

This is the fourth in the Rediscovering Los Angeles series, from Nov. 25, 1935, by Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner. Horses did not disappear from the streets of Los Angeles for quite a while after the introduction … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Animals, Architecture, Art & Artists, City Hall, Downtown, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged #Charles Owens, 1935, City Hall, horses, Timothy Turner | 1 Comment

October 4, 1943: American Troops Enter Bomb-Shattered Naples

Posted on October 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

October 4, 1943: Tom Treanor, who will be killed in a Jeep accident in France, writes about the liberation of Naples. “The Germans left Naples in a truly deplorable condition. In a huge hospital for incurables I myself saw 70 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Main Street, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged #Charlie Chaplin, 1943, film, hollywood, Naples, Tom Treanor, World War II | 1 Comment

Dining at the Van Nuys Hotel

Posted on October 3, 2013 by lmharnisch

Last month, I posted an image of the Cafe Bristol in the basement of the Hellman Building. Here’s another postcard, stamped 1911, of a downtown restaurant: the cafe at the Van Nuys Hotel at 4th and Main streets. The card … Continue reading →

Posted in 1911, Downtown, Food and Drink, Found on EBay, Main Street | Tagged #EBay, #Main Street, 1911, downtown, food and drink | 1 Comment

Rediscovering Los Angeles – Aliso and Alameda

Posted on October 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

Nov. 18, 1935: This is the third installment in the Rediscovering Los Angeles series, featuring Charles Owens’ artwork and text by Times columnist Timothy Turner. Unlike the later Nuestro Pueblo series by Owens and Joe Seewerker, these entries were never … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Nuestro Pueblo, Preservation, Transportation | Tagged #Charles Owens, #Union Station, 1935, architecture, downtown | Comments Off

L.A. Becomes New York – Again

Posted on September 28, 2013 by lmharnisch

How much from downtown L.A. to JFK? Yes, they were filming around “New York Street” on Thursday and providing color with fake New York taxis.

Posted in Downtown, Film, New York, Spring Street | Tagged #New York, downtown, film, hollywood, movies | Comments Off

Scr*w You, Steve Needleman

Posted on September 28, 2013 by lmharnisch

If Steve Needleman, owner of the Orpheum Theatre, wanted “a two-story, 10,400-square-foot Cape Cod Revival house” he could have purchased an entire block of 1950s Valley tract homes and leveled them. No one would have cared. But tearing down Ira … Continue reading →

Posted in Broadway, Downtown, Preservation, San Fernando Valley, Theaters | Tagged Beverly Hills, Gershwin, preservation, Steve Needleman | 2 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles – Ferguson Alley

Posted on September 24, 2013 by lmharnisch

Nov. 11, 1935: For their second installment of “Rediscovering Los Angeles,” Times artist Charles Owens and Times columnist Timothy Turner visit Ferguson Alley, which as Turner notes was going to be demolished for Union Station. Turner writes: Ferguson Alley, which … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Art & Artists, Downtown, Nuestro Pueblo, Preservation, Transportation | Tagged #Charles Owens, #Chinatown, #Union Station, 1935, art and artists, downtown, Timothy Turner | 6 Comments

Bandit Killed, LAPD Officers Wounded in Burlesque Theater Shootout

Posted on September 18, 2013 by lmharnisch

Sept. 18, 1933: Jack Keating, 30, and John Melvin Early, 35, had a plan to rob the Girlesque Theater at 510 S. Main St., but when the shooting was over, Keating was dead and Early and two men who helped … Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Art & Artists, Comics, Downtown, Hollywood, LAPD, Main Street, Theaters | Tagged #Main Street, 1933, burlesque, comics, lapd, theaters | Comments Off

Angels Flight — Another View

Posted on September 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

This postcard complements the Rediscovering Los Angeles post on Angels Flight. It’s postmarked 1904 and photo was taken from Spring Street looking toward the 3rd Street tunnel. Bidding starts at $5.

Posted in 1914, Architecture, Broadway, Downtown, Found on EBay, Spring Street, Theaters | Tagged #EBay, #Spring Street, 1914, 3rd Street, architecture, Broadway, downtown | 3 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles — And Timothy Turner

Posted on September 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

I have had a copy of this drawing over my desk for years as a reminder that I really ought to write a series of posts on the subject. This is the first in a series of columns featuring Charles … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Architecture, Art & Artists, Columnists, Downtown, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged #Charles Owens, 1935, Angels Flight, downtown, Timothy G. Turner | 3 Comments

L.A. Becomes N.Y.

Posted on September 12, 2013 by lmharnisch

I snapped this photo yesterday of the Million Dollar Theatre on Broadway dressed as the Montclair. Notice the New York taxicab. You’re a long way from home, pal. Hey, it’s Blythe Danner!

Posted in 2013, Broadway, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, New York | Tagged #New York, downtown, film, hollywood, movies | Comments Off

Cafe Bristol Revisited

Posted on September 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

If you’ll recall from yesterday’s post on the Cafe Bristol, the main entrances were two marble staircases off 4th Street. The door on 4th Street was locked, alas, but I was able to get these shots of the two staircases. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1904, Downtown, Food and Drink, Spring Street | Tagged #DTLA, #restaurants, 1904, Hellman Building | 1 Comment

Coming Attractions: Downtown Art Show

Posted on September 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

Alex Schaefer, above, and Jose De Juan have an opening of their show “L.A.ndscapes” on Thursday at the District Gallery, 740E. 3rd. There’s a reception Thursday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The show continues through Oct. 20. More information … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013, Art & Artists, Downtown | Tagged #DTLA, artists | Comments Off

Cafe Bristol – Downtown Los Angeles

Posted on September 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

I came across another program from the Mason Opera House listed on EBay, this one from 1909. Here’s an ad for the Cafe Bristol, which was in the basement of the Hellman Building at 4th and Spring. It’s listed as … Continue reading →

Posted in 1904, 1909, Downtown, Food and Drink, Found on EBay, Spring Street, Theaters | Tagged #DTLA, #EBay, #restaurants, #Spring Street, 1904, 1909 | 2 Comments

Barbara Graham Sobs During Son’s Visit to Jail

Posted on September 6, 2013 by lmharnisch

Sept. 6, 1953: Barbara Graham, on trial in the Mabel Monahan killing, sobs “almost hysterically” as she holds her 18-month-old son, Tommy, during a visit at the Hall of Justice, The Times says. He was in the custody of his … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Film, Hill Street, Obituaries | Tagged #death penalty, 1953, Barbara Graham, comics, film, hollywood, obituaries | 3 Comments

Our Sainted Streetcars – Glendale Edition

Posted on September 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

A postcard showing what the vendor says is a depot for the Los Angeles and Glendale Electric Interurban Railway system has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $249.99. Times clips show that by 1904, the Los Angeles and Glendale … Continue reading →

Posted in 1904, Downtown, Found on EBay, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged #EBay, #Glendale, 1904, Streetcars, transportation | 4 Comments