Category Archives: History

Los Angeles Prepares to Celebrate a Wartime Christmas

Posted on December 19, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 19, 1943: Los Angeles prepares to celebrate Christmas with a focus on service members, while U.S. troops fight the Nazis in hand-to-hand combat for the Italian town of San Pietro.  The Times story by James Warnack (d. 1958) begins:  … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Books and Authors, Film, History, Hollywood, Religion, Sports, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Los Angeles Prepares to Celebrate a Wartime Christmas

A Relic of the Past: Horse Flop Found in Downtown Los Angeles!

Posted on December 14, 2013 by lmharnisch

In the 21st century, one can still find horse flop on Spring Street near City Hall in downtown Los Angeles. So much for the predictions of yesteryear,  in which we would be living in domed cities, get our power from … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, City Hall, Downtown, History, Spring Street | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Pages of History — Morrow Mayo and ‘Los Angeles’

Posted on December 6, 2013 by lmharnisch

This is something of a find. “Los Angeles” is one of the most influential — though certainly not one of the most accurate — books ever written about local history and although it’s well known, the author, George “Morrow” Mayo … Continue reading →

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Take the L.A. Daily Mirror Reader Survey — Responses Closed

Posted on November 30, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jack Webb and William Conrad phone in their answers to the L.A. Daily Mirror Reader Survey. Update 2: Today’s the last day to express your thoughts in the Daily Mirror Reader Survey. And stay tuned for the results. Update: More … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, History, Hollywood, LAPD, Mystery Photo, Theaters | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Take the L.A. Daily Mirror Reader Survey — Responses Closed

Another Good Story Ruined: William Parker vs. Bugsy Siegel

Posted on November 24, 2013 by lmharnisch

By Yvonne Villarreal in The Times. Let’s get this straight: There was never a “long and often bloody struggle between LAPD Police Chief William Parker and gangster kingpin Ben ‘Bugsy’ Siegel” for the simple reason that Siegel was shot to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, History, LAPD, Mickey Cohen, Television | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Nov. 22, 1963: Remembering JFK, That Day in Dallas and Baby Boomer Nostalgia

Posted on November 22, 2013 by lmharnisch

Nov. 22, 1963: The Times publishes an extra. I recently attended graduation exercises for a local college and the commencement speaker spent quite a while talking about how the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy was a watershed moment … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, History | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

We Are Revolutionists!

Posted on November 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. Nov. 9, 1907: Local sympathizers, anarchists and socialists are organizing a mass meeting to protest the imprisonment of Ricardo Flores Magon, Librado Rivera, Antonio Villareal and L. Gutierrez … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, History | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The ‘Decline’ of Wikipedia

Posted on November 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

A world without Wikipedia? Sounds good to me. Tom Simonite in the MIT Technology Review looks at the “decline” of Wikipedia (that would, of course, assume that it was ever worth anything). Yet Wikipedia and its stated ambition to “compile … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Wikipedia | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

‘The Clansman’ Comes to Los Angeles – Part 2

Posted on October 30, 2013 by lmharnisch

A photo from an ad for “The Clansman” in the Los Angeles Herald, 1908. Several weeks ago, I stumbled across a program from the Mason Opera House, announcing the upcoming production of “The Clansman,” the play by Thomas Dixon Jr. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1908, African Americans, Animals, Broadway, Downtown, Film, History, Hollywood, Los Angeles Star, Stage | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

L.A. Archives Bazaar – Coming Tomorrow

Posted on October 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

The annual Archives Bazaar snuck up on me this year. It’s tomorrow at USC! The annual bazaar will be held at USC’s Doheny Memorial Library from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Featured sessions include the Archives Roadshow, from 10 a.m … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming Attractions, History | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

LAPD Photo on EBay From 1884 – To Collect and to Serve

Posted on October 2, 2013 by lmharnisch

An EBay vendor has listed this collection of cabinet cards dated 1884 showing LAPD officers. The vendor is also offering other clippings and ephemera linked to William  Ernst Stoermer. Stoermer, who died in 1932, was also a firefighter and a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1884, Found on EBay, History, LAPD, Obituaries, Photography, Preservation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on LAPD Photo on EBay From 1884 – To Collect and to Serve

A Note to Commenters

Posted on September 30, 2013 by lmharnisch

It may be worthwhile to point out in these days of heightened focus on Internet privacy that there isn’t as much anonymity as one might think. This is particularly true for commenters on L.A. Daily Mirror posts or indeed for … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Arabella Huntington Marries Nephew in Paris

Posted on July 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

The Times takes a dim view of Mexican revolutionaries.   July 17, 1913: Arabella D. Huntington, widow of the late Collis P. Huntington, marries his nephew, Henry E. Huntington, in Paris at the American Church in the Rue de Berri.  … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, Architecture, Art & Artists, Broadway, Downtown, History, Suicide | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Arabella Huntington Marries Nephew in Paris

The Death of Ted Healy — Part 15

Posted on June 21, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 28, 1937: Betty Braun Healy meets with Dist. Atty. Buron Fitts over her allegations about the death of Ted Healy. At the conclusion of the conference, she agreed that Healy had died of natural causes. (Los Angeles Examiner, Dec. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, History, Hollywood, Nightclubs, Wikipedia | Tagged , , , , | 37 Comments

‘What Is the Jewish Experience in Los Angeles?’

Posted on May 25, 2013 by lmharnisch

My latest column is in The Times this morning. I visited the Autry National Center’s new exhibit “Jews in the Los Angeles Mosaic” and attended a daylong symposium on some aspects of the Jewish experience in Los Angeles. Books could … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Museums | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Answering Michael Rosenblum: What IS a Library?

Posted on May 18, 2013 by lmharnisch

A fellow named Michael Rosenblum, whom I have never encountered before, has written a Huffington Post essay on libraries and meanders about on the idea that Google has made them obsolete. Mind you, this is not a direct point — … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Libraries | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Black Dahlia: What Is the Address of the Crime Scene?

Posted on May 15, 2013 by lmharnisch

I received a query yesterday from someone at Los Angeles magazine wanting to know the address on South Norton Avenue where the body of Elizabeth Short was found. The crime scene is usually given as “39th and Norton,” the nearest … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, History | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Wikipedia: Murder and Myth – Part 5

Posted on April 30, 2013 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I am using the Wikipedia entry on Wallace Beery – alleging that he was involved in the death of Ted Healy – as a way to explore Wikipedia’s fundamental problems with accuracy and delve … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, History, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Wikipedia: Murder and Myth — A Note on Sources

Posted on April 29, 2013 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I am using the Wikipedia entry on Wallace Beery — alleging that he was involved in the death of Ted Healy — as a way to explore Wikipedia’s fundamental problems with accuracy and delve … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, History, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Wikipedia: Murder and Myth — A Note on Sources

Wikipedia Watch: Yuri Gadyukin Hoax

Posted on April 28, 2013 by lmharnisch

An elaborate Wikipedia hoax involves a purported Soviet film director — who never existed. Among his alleged works is “Where the Tractors Roam.”

Posted in Film, History, Wikipedia | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments