Category Archives: LAPD

Black Dahlia: 1947 L.A. Examiner Front Page Sells for $500+

Posted on May 2, 2014 by lmharnisch

Someone bought this front page of the Jan. 17, 1947, Los Angeles Examiner, with the story about the identification of Elizabeth Short, for $511.01. Not the entire paper. Just the front page. The seller was Timothy Hughes: Early and Rare … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Found on EBay, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

LAPD Parker Center Cop Shop Files: The Freeway Rapist

Posted on April 29, 2014 by lmharnisch

I was given a box of material that was cleaned out of the old press room at the LAPD’s Parker Center headquarters, sometimes called “the cop shop.” The box was a jumble of press releases, photographs, artists’ sketches and other … Continue reading →

Posted in 1962, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Imagining the Future

Posted on April 26, 2014 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006. The subject came up today when I was having lunch with Ed Fuentes, so I thought I would repost it. Notice that in this plan, Union Station was to have been … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, Downtown, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Imagining the Future

Black Dahlia: Fixing a Small Error Before It Becomes a Big One

Posted on April 26, 2014 by lmharnisch

KPCC recently did a story about the LAPD’s archive of crime photos. And whoever wrote the caption took a logical – but incorrect – guess about the people in this photo of the Black Dahlia crime scene. Let’s do a … Continue reading →

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, LAPD, Photography | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

LAPD Parker Center Cop Shop Files

Posted on April 22, 2014 by lmharnisch

I was given a box of material that was cleaned out of the old press room at the LAPD’s Parker Center headquarters, sometimes called “the cop shop.” The box was a jumble of press releases, photographs, artists’ sketches and other … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: A New ‘Suspect’ (Who Isn’t Dr. George Hodel) and a New Dimension in Lunacy

Posted on April 20, 2014 by lmharnisch

Nobody does “true” crime stories quite like the Brits. And the Daily Mail is all over this one. Suppose I told you that Suzanne Degnan (1946), the Black Dahlia (1947), Jimmy Hoffa (disappeared 1975), the Zodiac victims (late 1960s) AND … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

LAPD Parker Center Cop Shop Files: Sandra Bowers

Posted on April 16, 2014 by lmharnisch

I was given a box of material that was cleaned out of the old press room at the LAPD’s Parker Center headquarters, sometimes called “the cop shop.” The box was a jumble of press releases, photographs, artists’ sketches and other … Continue reading →

Posted in 1982, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

LAPD Scrapbook: Rodger Young Village

Posted on April 9, 2014 by lmharnisch

I stumbled across this photo in going through the LAPD scrapbooks at the city archives. This is Rodger Young Village, built for returning veterans due to the acute housing shortage in Los Angeles. This site is now occupied by the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1946, LAPD, Parks | Tagged , , , | 42 Comments

LAPD Scrapbook: L.A. Crime Wave, March 8, 1946

Posted on April 9, 2014 by lmharnisch

I recently visited the city archives and thanks to archivist Michael Holland, I learned that the LAPD kept scrapbooks in the 1940s. This is an editorial from the California Grocers Journal, which says: At one time police brutality was common … Continue reading →

Posted in 1946, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged , | Comments Off on LAPD Scrapbook: L.A. Crime Wave, March 8, 1946

LAPD Parker Center Cop Shop Files

Posted on April 8, 2014 by lmharnisch

In 2013, I was given a box of material that was cleaned out of the old press room at the LAPD’s Parker Center headquarters, sometimes called “the cop shop.” The box was a jumble of press releases, photographs, artists’ sketches … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: Not for Young Readers

Posted on April 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

Imagine my surprise to find this little gem floating around on the Internet, and I see that I’m a couple of years late. According to Amazon, it’s a 2011 account of the Black Dahlia case for middle school students, although … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

LAPD Parker Center Cop Shop Files (Updated)

Posted on April 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

In 2013, I was given a box of material that was cleaned out of the old press room at the LAPD’s Parker Center headquarters, sometimes called “the cop shop.” The box was a jumble of press releases, photographs, artists’ sketches … Continue reading →

Posted in LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , | 4 Comments

March 2014 Reader Survey

Posted on March 29, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here are the results as of Saturday. I’m guessing the figures may change a bit, but not too much.

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Mary Mallory, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

New LAPD Chief Calls for Openness With News Media

Posted on March 27, 2014 by lmharnisch

July 1, 1949 Former Marine Maj. Gen. William A. Worton becomes Los Angeles police chief. On his way to his office with Mayor Fletcher Bowron, he visits the press room: “I cannot do this job without the press. The public … Continue reading →

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LAPD Scrapbook: Police Crime Laboratory Beats Best Exploits of Sherlock Holmes, March 10, 1946

Posted on March 22, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 10, 1946 Here’s a feature from the LAPD scrapbooks at the city archives on police chemist Ray Pinker and the LAPD crime lab, which in those days was at the old Central Police Station on 1st Street. Bloodstain pattern … Continue reading →

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LAPD Scrapbook: Los Angeles Crime Down for 1948

Posted on March 21, 2014 by lmharnisch

January-February 1949 Here’s another item from the LAPD scrapbooks at the city archives: Los Angeles records a decrease in crime for 1948 compared to 1947, according to figures in the Pacific Coast International Law Enforcement News.

Posted in 1948, 1949, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on LAPD Scrapbook: Los Angeles Crime Down for 1948

LAPD Scrapbook: Gangster Squad Abolished, Los Angeles Herald-Express, Oct. 6, 1949

Posted on March 20, 2014 by lmharnisch

Oct. 6, 1949 Here’s another item from the LAPD scrapbooks at the city archives: The police chief is William A. Worton (are you paying attention, everybody who thinks William Parker was chief in 1949? especially you, Will Beall, writer of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

LAPD Mourns First Latina Officer Josephine Serrano Collier

Posted on March 20, 2014 by lmharnisch

Josephine Serrano Collier, courtesy LAPD. The LAPD is honoring the memory of Officer Josephine Serrano Collier, who died last month at the age of 91 in Tucson. The LAPD says she was its first Latina officer. Here she is in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, Crime and Courts, Downtown, LAPD, Obituaries | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on LAPD Mourns First Latina Officer Josephine Serrano Collier

LAPD Scrapbook: Convict Describes Killing by L.A. Cop, Daily News, June 7, 1949

Posted on March 19, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here’s another front page that was saved in the LAPD scrapbooks at the city archives. This is the Daily News from June 7, 1949. Notice the bizarre byline: Will O’Wisp. I can’t recall seeing a fake byline on a news … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

LAPD Scrapbook: June 16, 1949

Posted on March 18, 2014 by lmharnisch

I recently visited the city archives and thanks to archivist Michael Holland, I learned that the LAPD kept scrapbooks in the 1940s. Not all years are represented, unfortunately, but the department apparently subscribed to a clipping service at one point. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, LAPD, Libraries | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments