Category Archives: LAPD

Black L.A. 1947: LAPD Detectives Cleared of Brutality Against Drunk Woman

Posted on January 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Jan. 9, 1947: The Sentinel reports on the ruling by the Los Angeles Police Commission in the case of Edythe L. Galloway, 434 E. 48th St. On Nov. 6, 1946, the Police Commission voted to investigate the allegations of brutality … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, City Hall, LAPD | Tagged 1947, African Americans, brutality, City Hall, Edythe L. Galloway, lapd, Police Commission | Comments Off

The Floods

Posted on January 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 9-10, 1907 The worst storm in 23 years blew across Southern California with the force of a gale, dumping more than an inch of rain in Pasadena, killing an Orange County … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Downtown, LAPD, Pasadena, San Fernando Valley, Streetcars, Transportation | Comments Off

A Cold Dose of Reality

Posted on January 8, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 8, 1907 Los Angeles Perhaps Mayor Arthur C. Harper and the incoming slate of officials are focused on how they will divide the spoils of the city and assign patronage jobs, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Food and Drink, LAPD, Pasadena, Photography, Streetcars | Comments Off

TLC

Posted on January 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 7, 1907 Long Beach Elizabeth Mahler, a dainty brunette with a “sunny and jolly disposition,” is one of the bright spots at Long Beach Hospital. She had many male suitors and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Religion, Streetcars | Comments Off

Architectural Ramblings

Posted on January 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

A Trip to Oxford Avenue Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Here’s an interesting contrast: Oxford Avenue between Washington Boulevard and the Santa Monica Freeway and Oxford Avenue north of Washington. South of Washington, Oxford seems a bit … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Freeways, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off

Engine Company 10 Weeps

Posted on January 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 6, 1907 Los Angeles The Los Angeles Fireman’s Relief Association is staging a benefit for the young widow of ladderman Adolph Hermansen, who plunged out a window and fell five stories … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars | 1 Comment

A Fatal Can of Beans

Posted on January 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 5, 1907 Los Angeles Charles Edward Abbott, 23, of Artesia had lived his entire life in California without seeing snow except on faraway mountains and suggested that Mabel Carter, 28, and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off

Jan. 4, 1947: Angry Sailor Sets Fire to Skid Row Hotel After Being Rolled

Posted on January 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947Project. Jan. 4, 1947: Suppose, for a moment, that you are a 19-year-old mess cook second class stationed in San Pedro. Suppose further that while you are on leave … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, Fires, LAPD | Tagged #Skid Row, 1947, Edward A. Pavlischak, Fires, Harry Fremont, lapd, quote of the day | 1 Comment

The Mayor Departs From His Prepared Remarks

Posted on January 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 4, 1907 Los Angeles Mayor-elect Arthur C. Harper stood before 200 members of the Municipal League and their friends in a dinner at Levy’s who were eager to hear what he … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off

Black L.A. 1947: First African American Named to L.A. Police Commission

Posted on January 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Jan. 2, 1947: The Los Angeles Sentinel publishes the photo of Charles H. Matthews on Page 1 as part of its roundup of major stories from 1946. Matthews, a former deputy district attorney and an NAACP executive at the time, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1946, 1947, African Americans, LAPD | Tagged 1946, 1947, African Americans, Charles Matthews, crime and courts, Los Angeles Sentinel | Comments Off

Some Nice Boring Statistics

Posted on January 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 2, 1907 Los Angeles Some diligent soul at The Times dug through the number of marriage licenses and divorces and put together a small story that traced the city’s growth through … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off

Alive!

Posted on January 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Dec. 7, 1906-Dec. 22, 1906, Bakersfield Jan. 1, 1907 Los Angeles For 15 days, miner Lindsay P. Hicks lay trapped by a cave-in that killed his five companions tunneling in a mountain … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Food and Drink, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars, Theaters | Comments Off

Black L.A. 1947: Cross Burnings and Jim Crow Trains in Los Angeles – The Biggest Stories of 1946

Posted on December 29, 2017 by lmharnisch

In its Jan. 2, 1947, issue, the Los Angeles Sentinel looked back at the major stories of 1946, a good introduction to the year ahead: Job discrimination, Jim Crow laws, segregated housing, police beatings and racial violence. We will be … Continue reading →

Posted in 1946, 1947, African Americans, History, LAPD | Tagged #courts, 1946, 1947, African Americans, housing, Jim Crow, lapd, lynching | Comments Off

Black Dahlia: 5 Reasons Leslie Dillon Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short

Posted on December 22, 2017 by lmharnisch

Leslie Dillon in an undated photo, probably taken in the late 1940s. My inbox is exploding with alerts about Piu Eatwell “solving” the Black Dahlia case by attributing it to Leslie Duane Dillon. Here are five simple reasons that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2017, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, lapd, Leslie Dillon, Piu Eatwell | 5 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Formosa Cafe and Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on December 20, 2017 by lmharnisch

My inbox exploded this morning with alerts about the Black Dahlia and links leading to an essay in the Los Angeles Times by David Ulin, writing about the Formosa Cafe (which he calls “the Formosa” – a gaffe nobody bothered … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Food and Drink, LAPD | Tagged 1943, 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, black dahlia, Elizabeth Short, Formosa Cafe, lapd, unsolved murders | Comments Off

Black Dahlia: The Biltmore Hotel, Ghost Hunting and Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on October 31, 2017 by lmharnisch

I think we have found one presumably young and aspiring reporter who apparently believes in doing absolutely no research whatsoever.

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged #Pershing Square, 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Biltmore Hotel, black dahlia, cold cases, Daily Trojan | 6 Comments

Black Dahlia: YouTube Makeup Tutorials for Halloween – Seriously?

Posted on October 23, 2017 by lmharnisch

Apparently YouTube tutorials on Black Dahlia makeup are a thing. Please reconsider your choices. We think Harley Quinn or Mad Moxxi are much better Halloween costume options rather than dressing up like the victim of a gruesome murder.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged black dahlia, Halloween, Harley Quinn, Mad Moxxi, makeup | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: ‘Horror at the Cecil Hotel’

Posted on October 17, 2017 by lmharnisch

Just a quick reminder, since Investigation Discovery aired the first episode of “Horror at the Cecil Hotel” last night. There is nothing to show that Elizabeth Short (“the Black Dahlia”) ever set foot in the Cecil Hotel. She was last … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Downtown, LAPD, Main Street, Television | Tagged #Main Street, 1947, black dahlia, Cecil Hotel, Hotel Cecil, lapd, Television | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: Piu Eatwell’s ‘Black Dahlia, Red Rose’ – A Name to Remember

Posted on October 10, 2017 by lmharnisch

Donald Freed in Piu Eatwell’s “Black Dahlia, Red Rose.” There are many names and many claims in Piu Eatwell’s new book, “Black Dahlia, Red Rose,” but the most important for our purposes is that of Donald Freed, a very pleasant … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, Books and Authors, cold cases, lapd, Leslie Dillon, Piu Eatwell | 8 Comments

Black Dahlia: Piu Eatwell’s ‘Black Dahlia, Red Rose’ – A Bad Beginning

Posted on October 4, 2017 by lmharnisch

Given the brevity of human life, I don’t plan to do a line-by-line debunking of Piu Eatwell’s upcoming book “Black Dahlia, Red Rose.” Longtime readers may recall my labors over Donald Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files,” which lasted for months. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, Black Dahlia Red Rose, Books and Authors, cold cases, lapd, Piu Eatwell | 11 Comments