Category Archives: Downtown

Downtown Los Angeles, 1950: ‘Underworld Story,’ Part 4

Posted on June 26, 2019 by lmharnisch

Here’s another sequence from “The Underworld Story,” an especially interesting one that features the Globe Lobby in the old Los Angeles Times Building. Leading man Dan Duryea walks through the lobby. That’s the bust of Harry Chandler in a space … Continue reading →

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Downtown Los Angeles, 1950: ‘The Underworld Story’ Part 3

Posted on June 24, 2019 by lmharnisch

Here’s another sequence from “The Underworld Story” filmed in downtown Los Angeles. The camera is across Spring Street, opposite City Hall. Downtown L.A. in ‘Underworld Story’ Part 1 | Part 2

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Downtown Los Angeles, 1950: ‘The Underworld Story’ Part 2

Posted on June 19, 2019 by lmharnisch

Here’s another frame from the opening of “The Underworld Story,” last week’s mystery movie. This appears to be one of the Hill Street tunnels, which were demolished in 1955.

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Downtown Los Angeles, 1950: ‘The Underworld Story’

Posted on June 18, 2019 by lmharnisch

“The Underworld Story,” last week’s mystery movie, had quite a few interesting shots of downtown Los Angeles from about 1950. Here’s one from the opening titles. It shows the Fashion League Building, which was at Hill and 2nd streets. Notice … Continue reading →

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Follies Burlesque Dancer Scales Rosslyn Hotel!

Posted on May 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

A photographer for an unidentified men’s magazine from the 1950s (Argosy? Swank? Nugget?) took a dancer with the nom de strip “Dotty Pearce” up to the roof of the Rosslyn Hotel for some pictures. The article is part of a … Continue reading →

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March 16, 1969: The Rosey Grier Show

Posted on April 25, 2019 by lmharnisch

March 16, 1969: Rosey Grier, seen in the “Fearsome Foursome” making their debut on Shindig, is the star of a weekly TV show on Channel 7. Keith Thursby has the story.  This post originally appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and … Continue reading →

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April 3, 1957: Matt Weinstock

Posted on April 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

And here’s what the Daily Mirror looked like when debuted at the latimes in 2007. Matt Weinstock’s complete column is here.

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Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Mary Pickford Day

Posted on March 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Los Angeles in 1923 was a bustling, growing, optimistic place.  The town recognized all sorts of interesting people and topics, saluting them with their own days.  There were Raisin Day, Prune Day, … Continue reading →

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Jan. 14, 1939: Thousands at St. Vibiana’s Hold Vigil for World Peace

Posted on January 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 13, 1939: About 4,000 worshipers attend a Perpetual Novena for Our Sorrowful Mother at St. Vibiana’s Cathedral. People knelt in the aisles, in the doorways and outside praying for peace and for relief of the poor, The Times says.. … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Olvera Street, Salute to Los Angeles’ Spanish Past

Posted on January 7, 2019 by lmharnisch

A postcard of the Avila Adobe, listed on EBay for $1.89. “A people that has lost touch with its historical past, forgotten its traditions and wasted its heritage is as unfortunate as a man who has lost his memory. Without … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dec. 30, 1907: Old Soldiers of the Civil War, Held as Drunks, Get Free Run of Jail

Posted on December 30, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Dec. 30, 1907 Los Angeles James Sullivan, 64, was a prisoner of the Confederates held at Belle Isle, Libby and Andersonville, where he and war correspondent Albert D. Richardson escaped by tunneling … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 4 Clinic Served Poor Blacks of Bronzeville

Posted on December 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

Los Angeles, May 25, 1944: At a Shinto shrine near City Hall, Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron, second from left, Dr. George M. Uhl and Nicola Giulli of the city housing authority talk to black residents of Bronzeville. Courtesy of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Homicide, LAPD, Medicine, Television, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dec. 12, 1907: Recreation Center to Be Built in Heart of Industrial District

Posted on December 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Dec.12, 1907 Los Angeles 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,” … Continue reading →

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1920: Police Raid Party at Ex-Mayor’s Home, Arrest 7 Men in Drag

Posted on December 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Dec. 10,1907 Los Angeles Mayor Arthur C. Harper happens to be in all sorts of trouble. He’s telling the newspapers that he has had enough of politics and won’t seek another term. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1909, 1912, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Downtown, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dec. 4, 1907: Shooting on Baldwin Ranch Raises Tensions Between Chinese, Latino Workers

Posted on December 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Dec. 4, 1907 Arcadia Charley Chew, the water superintendent on the Lucky Baldwin ranch, had fired two Mexican workers several months ago and one dark night near the Unruh residence, they ambushed … Continue reading →

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Nov. 29, 1907: Baker’s New Recipe Touches Off a Matzo Brawl

Posted on November 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 29, 1907 Los Angeles Oh Those Shriners: Recall, if you will, the grisly train wreck that killed a large number of Shriners returning from their convention in Los Angeles. It seems … Continue reading →

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Nov. 28, 1907: Drunk Civil War Veterans Spur Liquor Ban; Noisy Rooster Starts War on Olive Street

Posted on November 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 28, 1907 Los Angeles Ocean Park banned serving alcohol to soldiers in uniform because drunk Civil War veterans from the soldiers home in Sawtelle “were seen reeling about the saloons.” A … Continue reading →

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Nov. 24, 1907: Roving to Monrovia

Posted on November 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 24, 1907 Monrovia The Times real estate section takes a look at what was then the distant suburb of Monrovia, 22 miles from downtown Los Angeles. The writer notes the increasing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, 1911, Architecture, Downtown, Education, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, Real Estate | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Roosevelt Declares Early Thanksgiving

Posted on November 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. Nov. 9, 1941: Amid the gathering clouds of World War II, President Roosevelt declares what will be the last peacetime Thanksgiving. Noting American aid to nations fighting the Axis, Roosevelt says: “Let … Continue reading →

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Nov. 15, 1907: Charles Mulford Robinson Drafts a Los Angeles of the Future

Posted on November 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 15, 1907 Los Angeles Architect Charles Mulford Robinson has drafted a proposal for downtown Los Angeles that is stunning in its ambition. One portion calls for broad boulevard leading from a … Continue reading →

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