Category Archives: Downtown

Chicago Schools to Teach Sex Education; Work Crew Digs Up Skeleton

Posted on July 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

New straw hats at Mullen & Bluett, Broadway and 6th Street. Straw hats are “jaunty, clever, correct.” But we knew that, right? July 10, 1913: Sex “hygiene” will be taught in the Chicago high schools after a vote by the … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Hamburger’s Department Store, Arrow Movie Theater

Posted on July 8, 2013 by lmharnisch

A postcard of Hamburger’s Department Store is listed on EBay as Buy It Now for $2.99. The classy, oversize May Co. Department Store located at 801 S. Broadway in downtown Los Angeles is up for sale. Today, the mostly empty … Continue reading →

Posted in 1908, Architecture, Broadway, Downtown, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Los Angeles Stands in for London

Posted on June 26, 2013 by lmharnisch

Spring Street and 4th in downtown Los Angeles is one of the most popular film locations in the city. It recently stood in for New York, complete with an NYC bus and a subway entrance. Last night, we had the … Continue reading →

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Stonewall Jackson Dies! Los Angeles Star, June 20, 1863

Posted on June 25, 2013 by lmharnisch

The Los Angeles Star, from the Huntington Library and scanned by USC, is available on USC’s website. June 20, 1863: The Star, a strong advocate for the Confederacy, puts the Richmond Whig’s account of Stonewall Jackson’s death on the front … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, Civil War, Downtown, Parks | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Einar Petersen Mural From the Rosslyn Hotel — Found on EBay

Posted on June 23, 2013 by lmharnisch

An Einar Petersen mural from the Rosslyn Hotel. A vendor on EBay has listed what is apparently one of Einar Petersen’s long-lost murals from the Rosslyn Hotel — in rather sorry condition. The price is Buy It Now for $5,000. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1915, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Hollywood Heights, Main Street, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo – Clara Bow Edition

Posted on June 15, 2013 by lmharnisch

What really got me wondering about “It” is the mystery department store. We have seen that the “The Public Enemy” and “Employees’ Entrance” used the May Co. Let’s take a look.

Posted in 1927, Downtown, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Los Angeles Theatre — Business and Preservation

Posted on May 29, 2013 by lmharnisch

In passing the Los Angeles Theatre last night, I saw a notice of June 6 hearing on several business being proposed for the structure. The big question is what exactly would be done to the interior and how much the … Continue reading →

Posted in Broadway, Film, Food and Drink, Nightclubs, Preservation, Theaters | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Women’s History — Gertrude S. Reynolds McMullen

Posted on May 26, 2013 by lmharnisch

This postcard of the Southwest Turquoise Co., 113 N. Broadway, has been listed on EBay. The shop would have been roughly across the street from the old Times Building at 1st and Broadway. Bidding on the postcard starts at $8. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1909, 1910, Broadway, Found on EBay, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Random Shot – DTLA

Posted on April 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

The things you see in downtown Los Angeles.

Posted in Architecture, Broadway, Downtown | Tagged , | 1 Comment

What Cheer Saloon

Posted on April 16, 2013 by lmharnisch

The entire issue of the Los Angeles Star is available via USC, scanned from a copy at the Huntington. April 11, 1863: Very slim pickings for local news this week as nearly the entire issue of the Los Angeles Star … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, Animals, Civil War, Food and Drink, Main Street | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Millennial Moment: Animator in Jail After Oscar Awards Attack on Officers

Posted on April 12, 2013 by lmharnisch

April 12, 1983: Oscar-winning animator Zbigniew Rybczyński, 34, is in custody on charges of battery after he allegedly kicked a security guard in the groin outside the Academy Awards ceremony at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion — and then kicked a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1983, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Millennial Moments | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Human Fly Flees Hall of Justice

Posted on April 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

April 4, 1943: Col. Darryl F. Zanuck comes under criticism for trying to return to civilian life. (Zanuck said there wasn’t much chance that he would make more movies of combat.) Sen. Harry Truman (D-Mo.) of the Senate War Program … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Broadway, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

When L.A. Becomes New York

Posted on March 29, 2013 by lmharnisch

Being in L.A. is like living on a huge movie set. The white trucks are everywhere. Because I work downtown, I’m accustomed to seeing it standing in for – yes – New York. All the time. Here are some recent … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Film, Hollywood, New York, Spring Street | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Mobs Storm Butchers Trying to Beat Ration Deadline

Posted on March 28, 2013 by lmharnisch

People line up outside a meat market at 2100 N. Broadway. 2100 N. Broadway via Google Street View. March 28, 1943: And did the “Greatest Generation” meekly, humbly and patriotically accept meat rationing for the war effort? They did not. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Books and Authors, Broadway, Comics, Downtown, Food and Drink, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mobs Storm Butchers Trying to Beat Ration Deadline

Bearthina Is Missing

Posted on March 27, 2013 by lmharnisch

March 27, 1913: Mrs. C.H. Hampton, 139 S. Olive St., is a woman with a stretch of bad luck. First her husband died, and then in December the former Mrs. Schwartz married a man named Hampton who talked her into … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, LAPD, Olive | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

LAPD in Standoff With Mad Gunman

Posted on March 19, 2013 by lmharnisch

The 900 block of South Francisco Street via Google Street View. March 19, 1913: F.C. Fredericks presents the LAPD with a difficult situation in the days before tear gas and swat teams (or indeed before negotiations by telephone). Fredericks was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, Downtown, LAPD | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

L.A. Conservancy Announces Last Remaining Seats for 2013

Posted on March 5, 2013 by lmharnisch

The L.A. Conservancy has posted its lineup for the Last Remaining Seats – which is one of my favorite downtown L.A. events – and I have to say I’m underwhelmed. June 1: “To Catch a Thief” at the Orpheum. June … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Good Fellows Grotto – Found on EBay

Posted on February 6, 2013 by lmharnisch

At left, Good Fellows Grotto on Main Street in Los Angeles in a photo from the restaurant’s menu. Somebody swiped a teapot from Good Fellows Grotto, the famed Los Angeles restaurant. It’s listed on EBay with bids starting at $78.

Posted in Architecture, Food and Drink, Found on EBay, Main Street | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Good Fellows Grotto – Found on EBay

On Location: The May Co.

Posted on January 23, 2013 by lmharnisch

A little of Loretta Young (featured this month on TCM) goes a long way at the Daily Mirror HQ, but I noticed these shots of a department store in “Employees’ Entrance” and they reminded me of the sequence in “Public … Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Architecture, Broadway, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Deadly LAPD Beating: Officer Describes Arrest

Posted on January 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 17, 1943: District attorney’s investigators question Police Sgt. James F. Martin about the arrest of Stanley H. Beebe, who died after being beaten by LAPD officers. Martin said that he got a bloody nose and two broken ribs in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hill Street, LAPD, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments