Category Archives: Downtown

Stengel Top Choice to Coach New L.A. Team

Posted on November 1, 2010 by lmharnisch

      Nov. 1, 1960: The new American League team heading to Los Angeles seemed to be stockpiling star power. Hank Greenberg, a Hall of Fame slugger turned businessman, was putting together his bid for the franchise, which would … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Sports | 2 Comments

The Biltmore Doorman

Posted on November 1, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Nov. 1, 1960: I always have my eye out for stories about doormen at the Biltmore after researching the often-repeated myth about the “noble doorman” at the hotel, tipping his cap and opening the door for the Black … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Politics | Comments Off on The Biltmore Doorman

Victor the Flower Vendor

Posted on October 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

        Oct. 22, 1910: The LAPD cracks down on sidewalk peddlers and beggars outside the Merchants’ National Bank at 3rd and Spring streets. But what to do with Victor, the poor flower vendor?

Posted in #courts, Downtown, Fashion, LAPD | Comments Off on Victor the Flower Vendor

The Story of ‘Stiff-Neck Ben’

Posted on October 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

  I ran across a reference to “Stiff-Neck Ben” Boynton in the transcripts of the Clarence Darrow trial. In 1906, he was running the biggest poker game in town, according to The Times,  at 144 S. Main St. “In the … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Downtown | Comments Off on The Story of ‘Stiff-Neck Ben’

Found on EBay – American National Bank Building

Posted on September 30, 2010 by lmharnisch

The American National Bank Building, left, at Second Street and Broadway is among the buildings featured in a souvenir booklet listed on EBay. Other downtown buildings shown in the booklet include the Farmers & Merchants National Bank Building, the Grosse … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Photography | 1 Comment

The Dodgers’ Crystal Ball

Posted on September 6, 2010 by lmharnisch

Hey, Keith, look: Vin “Vince” Scully! … Mayor Poulson? I'm afraid not. Sept. 6, 1960: The Times' Al Wolf tried to predict the future and write about the opener of the Dodgers' new park in 1962. The headline "Chavez Ravine—Year … Continue reading →

Posted in broadcasting, Dodgers, Downtown | Comments Off on The Dodgers’ Crystal Ball

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on August 30, 2010 by lmharnisch

   Los Angeles Times file photo Photograph by George Lacks / Los Angeles Mirror  OK, here’s another picture of our mystery woman. And yes, the photo is from the Mirror files. Update: On the jump, the identity of our mystery … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Mystery Photo, Photography, Stage, Suicide | 6 Comments

Brave Officer Halts Runaway Horse

Posted on August 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Aug. 2, 1910: Patrolman R.M. Green was directing traffic at 3rd and Main streets when a runaway horse pulling a light wagon plunged toward the intersection. Green jumped into the back of the wagon and made his way to … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Downtown, LAPD, Transportation | Comments Off on Brave Officer Halts Runaway Horse

Found on EBay – Mason Opera House

Posted on July 31, 2010 by lmharnisch

A nice postcard of the Mason Opera House (now the site of a huge, vacant pit on Broadway between 1st and 2nd streets) has been listed on EBay. The Mason Opera House/Operahouse was one of the leading theaters in Los … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Photography | 1 Comment

Pages of History

Posted on July 30, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Notice how steep Bunker Hill used to be! I stumbled across a copy of “Los Angeles: A Guide Book,” produced for the 1907 National Education Assn. convention, listed on EBay for $9.99 and remembered that I had seen a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1910 L.A. Times bombing, books, Downtown, Pages of History, Transportation, travel | Comments Off on Pages of History

Pages of History

Posted on July 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

  "I was seeing Pershing Square, Los Angeles, now for the first time…the nervous fugitives from Times Square, Market Street SF, the French Quarter — masculine hustlers looking for lonely fruits to score from, anything from the legendary $20 to … Continue reading →

Posted in #gays and lesbians, art and artists, books, Downtown, Parks and Recreation | 2 Comments

Car Hits Newsboy, 9

Posted on July 19, 2010 by lmharnisch

July 19, 1910: A news story straight in the Herald and in dialect in The Times. Evidently neither paper reported on whether he recovered.

Posted in Downtown, health, Transportation | 1 Comment

L.A. to Celebrate the Fourth of July in Many Languages

Posted on July 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Maybe beer is something other than “liquid bread.” July 3, 1910: Los Angeles prepares to celebrate the Fourth of July with a parade in the downtown business district followed by a ceremony at the Plaza with a reading of … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Food and Drink, Parks and Recreation | 2 Comments

Random Shot – Pershing Square

Posted on July 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Rosanna Xia / Los Angeles Times Rosanna Xia, a summer intern with The Times, visited an art show in Pershing Square on Sunday and took this photo of Dan Brown’s “Tribute to the King of Pop,” a portrait … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, Downtown, Parks and Recreation, Photography | Comments Off on Random Shot – Pershing Square

Times Bombing Revisited

Posted on June 29, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Unless you have lived in Los Angeles quite a while, you probably only remember the northeast corner of 1st and Broadway as a deserted moonscape where a state building was once located. I’ve spent some time combining an 1890 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1910 L.A. Times bombing, Architecture, Downtown | 2 Comments

Pages of History

Posted on June 25, 2010 by lmharnisch

  ’m doing a fair amount of research these days on the Oct. 1, 1910, bombing of The Times and have been referring to W.W. Robinson’s slim 1969 book “Bombs and Bribery,” which is a good introduction to the incident … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1910 L.A. Times bombing, books, Downtown | 1 Comment

Los Angeles in 7 Days

Posted on June 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

I’ve been looking for a copy of “Los Angeles in 7 Days” since my friend Carolyn Strickler, former head of The Times’ History Center, showed me a copy of the 1932 book. Bookfinder has a few copies, but for more … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Downtown | 3 Comments

City to Renovate Downtown Park

Posted on June 21, 2010 by lmharnisch

Central Park, which was renamed Pershing Square in November 1918. June 26, 1907, a headline that will live in infamy. June 21, 1910: William Hicks is fined $10 [$227.39 USD 2009] for using “shocking language” in the presence of women. … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Parks and Recreation | Comments Off on City to Renovate Downtown Park

Dodgers Seek Permit for Stadium

Posted on June 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

June 16, 1960: One of the final paperwork hurdles was filed before construction could start on the Dodgers' new ballpark in Chavez Ravine. An application for a conditional use permit was necessary, The Times reported, because the land was zoned … Continue reading →

Posted in Dodgers, Downtown | 1 Comment

Lakers Arrive in L.A.!

Posted on June 15, 2010 by lmharnisch

  June 15, 1960: The Lakers are here! And this is the welcoming committee? Unlike the reception given the Dodgers when they moved west to Los Angeles, the Lakers quietly moved into town in 1960. I loved the silliness of … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Lakers | 1 Comment