Category Archives: Downtown

Driving Lesson Ends in Crash With Trolley

Posted on November 29, 2009 by lmharnisch

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps/sv?cbp=12,286.48,,0,-1.06&cbll=34.067659,-118.225897&v=1&panoid=ybIR0sriyeKOE7LJSSmtcw&gl=&hl=en” width=”600″>View Larger Map Wilhardt Street and Main, the general area of the first accident between a streetcar and an auto. View Larger MapMain and Alameda, the general area of the second accident – and only a block … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Transportation | Comments Off

An Unlucky Address

Posted on November 28, 2009 by lmharnisch

Nov. 28, 1919: A nervy bandit. May 12, 1924: More trouble at 824 Francisco St. March 4, 1932: Even more trouble near 824 Francisco St. Nov. 28, 1919: A nervy bandit orders a woman out of her … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, LAPD | Comments Off

Found on EBay – Thomas Bros. Map

Posted on November 20, 2009 by lmharnisch

This 1940s vintage Thomas Bros. map of Los Angeles has been listed on EBay. These maps and street guides – which show the city before freeways – are entertaining and can be useful references for anyone researching the history … Continue reading →

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

Posted on November 18, 2009 by lmharnisch

As Senators Write to Indignant Taxpayers While we’re all gathered here together, in this smoke-filled room, I’d like to say a few words in behalf of politicians. They are our friends. Behind that stodgy facade that they put up, they’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Downtown, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Parks and Recreation, Paul Coates | Comments Off

School Board Sells Downtown Property

Posted on November 14, 2009 by lmharnisch

Clare Briggs on the day after Halloween. Nov. 14, 1919: Here’s one of the problems of research – a story about the sale of Mercantile Place, which is so well known that the reporter doesn’t say where it is. June … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, art and artists, Comics, Downtown, Education | Comments Off

November 14, 1909: Nude Man Prances on Bunker Hill

Posted on November 14, 2009 by lmharnisch

November 14, 1909: The problem with identifying the man gamboling about the top of Angel Flight* without clothing is that none of the women who complain to police have taken a good look at him. And Eddie Foy offers advice … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Stage | Comments Off

Pro Hockey for L.A.

Posted on November 11, 2009 by lmharnisch

Nov. 11, 1959 Would L.A. warm up to ice hockey? Bob Hannam apparently thought so. Described in The Times as a Pasadena insurance man and president of a local amateur league, he was the front man for an … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Sports | 3 Comments

The Problem of Vice

Posted on November 6, 2009 by lmharnisch

Clare Briggs on golf. Nov. 6, 1919: A judge blames gambling and other forms of vice at a Spring Street hotel on the lack of a segregated vice district. "It is one of the penalties we have to pay … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, art and artists, Comics, Downtown | Comments Off

U.S. Approves Project to Clear Bunker Hill

Posted on October 31, 2009 by lmharnisch

Guess what happens after a plumber connects a butane line to Crestview, Fla.'s water supply Someone, we're not sure who, reminisces about Halloweens of the past. I figured out how to make the "ticktack" the woman describes, but the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Sports | Comments Off

Halloween Pranks

Posted on October 31, 2009 by lmharnisch

A cheese elephant from “The Terrors of the Tiny Tads” by Gustave Verbeck/Verbeek. A five-passenger Cadillac is stolen – police say it’s a prank. Oct. 31, 1909: Three motorcyclists are charged with going almost 30 mph, in violation of the … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, art and artists, Comics, Downtown, LAPD | Comments Off

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

Posted on October 28, 2009 by lmharnisch

Nippon Women Split on Retaining Geisha LADIES DAY IN TOKYO: The flowery era of Madame Butterfly is dying, but not quite dead in the postwar life of Japan. Under the democracy dictated to them by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Japanese women … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Downtown, Paul Coates | Comments Off

Women in Little Tokyo Charged as B-Girls

Posted on October 28, 2009 by lmharnisch

And all this time, I thought people were joking about winning the Irish Sweepstakes. The prolonged steel strike puts 6,100 local General Motors employees out of work. The affected factories are GM's Chevrolet, Fisher Body and truck plants in the … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Downtown, Food and Drink, Front Pages | 1 Comment

Grauman to Remodel Rialto Theater

Posted on October 27, 2009 by lmharnisch

Oct. 27, 1919: Sid Grauman has big plans for the Rialto theater on Broadway near 8th Street. Grauman will install a Wurlitzer organ and cover the theater’s seats in white satin. The first three films booked after the theater … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off

Landmark Nightclub Modernized

Posted on October 26, 2009 by lmharnisch

Virginia Arness attempts suicide in Hawaii. The Biltmore Bowl is heavily modernized so that is virtually unrecognizable. New and Old Chinatown, divided by Broadway. "I don't belong to the tong. I am an American. I belong to the Kiwanis Club." … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, San Fernando Valley, Sports, Suicide | Comments Off

L.A. County Seeks to Curb Smog

Posted on October 24, 2009 by lmharnisch

Oct. 24, 1959: Smog continues to blight Los Angeles. City Hall is barely visible from Temple and Hill streets. And Walter O'Malley promises that Dodger Stadium will be dignified.

Posted in Dodgers, Downtown, Environment, Front Pages, Transportation | Comments Off

Delay for Caryl Chessman

Posted on October 22, 2009 by lmharnisch

Oct. 22, 1959: President Eisenhower transfers German rocket scientists led by Wernher von Braun from Army jurisdiction to NASA. Luau anyone? The Dodgers submitted a map for their Chavez Ravine ballpark and some of the features were downright headline grabbers. … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Caryl Chessman, City Hall, Dodgers, Downtown, Politics | 2 Comments

Plaza Festival Celebrates Columbus Day

Posted on October 22, 2009 by lmharnisch

What the stalwart young lad is wearing. Oct. 22, 1909: Columbus Day is celebrated at the Plaza with a surprising array of ethnic groups. I’ve seen postcards of the Indian Village at Eastlake Park, but have never found out … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Fashion, Religion | Comments Off

President Asks Court to Halt Steel Strike

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch

Oct. 20, 1959: No clemency for Caryl Chessman, governor says … Calling it a sad day for America, President Eisenhower tells the Justice Department to seek a federal injunction to halt a strike by the United Steelworkers of America. … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Caryl Chessman, City Hall, Dodgers, Downtown, Fashion | Comments Off

Lunch With the Daily Mirror

Posted on October 18, 2009 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Navid Nonahal / Los Angeles Times Oct. 17, 2009: We had a festive time on Saturday at Philippe, discussing Los Angeles history, vintage movies, the true origin of the French dip sandwich and tips on blogging. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Food and Drink | Comments Off

Lunch With the Daily Mirror – Oct. 17

Posted on October 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

Our lunch gatherings at Philippe have been so enjoyable that I thought it would be fun to have another. We’re shooting for Saturday, Oct. 17, at noon in the mass transit/clown alcove. Stop by and discuss mystery photos, old … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Food and Drink | 2 Comments