Category Archives: LAPD

Shattered Lives

Posted on February 15, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 14-15, 1907Los Angeles An 11:30 a.m. blast caused by an accumulation of gas shattered the Rawson building at 114 W. 2nd St. in an explosion blamed on a gas company employee who struck a match to check the meter. … Continue reading →

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Twin Celebrations

Posted on February 13, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb.13, 1907Los Angeles An enormous masked ball for the city’s elite was staged on Mardi Gras at Kramer’s Studio and Dancing Academy, 1500 S. Figueroa. Kramer’s Hall, as it was informally known. The Times, in a rare bylined article—by Katherine … Continue reading →

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In-Cred-I-Ble

Posted on February 13, 2007 by lmharnisch

A large (20×30) reproduction of Elizabeth Short’s mug shot has appeared on EBay at a starting price of $250, or $400 under “buy it now” in an auction by mermaidfx. The word “rare” is ridiculously common on EBay, surpassed only … Continue reading →

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The Rising City

Posted on February 12, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 12, 1907Los Angeles Imagine the surprise of Mrs. Robert Jackson, who was about to move into her new home on Vernon Avenue and discovered that the contractor had built it on someone else’s lot, next to the one that … Continue reading →

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Random Shots From Our 12-Bore

Posted on February 11, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 11, 1907Los Angeles The Eastside gets a new Baptist Church and 2nd Street and St. Louis. Like Tom and Huck A large pond 7 feet deep at Normandie and San Marino left by the runoff of recent rainstorms proved … Continue reading →

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Architectural Ramblings

Posted on February 10, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 10, 1907Los Angeles The Times features a hillside home “near the ostrich farm” in Pasadena. Presumably that was the Cawston farm in South Pasadena. (What, South Pasadena, again?) Unfortunately, many of the homes photographed for The Times in 1907 … Continue reading →

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From the Pen of George M. Cohan

Posted on February 9, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 9, 1907Los Angeles lmharnisch.comlmharnisch.blogspot.comE-mail: lmharnisch (AT) gmail.com

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Blogging the Wolfe Book, Our Story So Far

Posted on February 8, 2007 by lmharnisch

Larry Harnisch (described by James Ellroy as a Dahlia scholar/Dahlia freak, take your pick) is blogging in real time as he reads Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, Film, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Peace Returns to Buena Vista Street

Posted on February 8, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 8, 1907Los Angeles About 1903, Charles E. Donnatin, former Pacific Electric Railway superintendent, apparently said something about the young woman across the street at the Stewart home, Savoy Street and Buena Vista (now 1301 N. Broadway). The woman’s mother … Continue reading →

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Court Briefs

Posted on February 7, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 7, 1907Los Angeles A Child’s Testimony Charles Babbitt is sentenced to 30 days in jail on charges of domestic violence after the testimony of his 6-year-old son. “Papa hit me with a whip and it cut my head,” the … Continue reading →

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Incendiary Ramblings

Posted on February 6, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 5, 2007Los Angeles Here’s an architectural drawing of the O.T. Johnson Building, which burned in yesterday’s fire. Looking north on Broadway at 4th Street. The burned structures are at the right. And here are some snaps of the damaged … Continue reading →

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Centennial Ramblings

Posted on February 5, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 5, 2007Sierra Madre Because it’s celebrating its centennial this month, I paid a visit to Sierra Madre and while savoring a cinnamon dolce latte at the local Starbucks, watched the sun set on a historic Union 76 ball. A … Continue reading →

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Architectural Ramblings

Posted on February 4, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 4, 2007South Pasadena The Times publishes three architectural drawings of “artistic bungalows” prepared by the firm of Wilson and Barnes. One is being built by W.E. Fox on Columbia near Sunset Boulevard, the second by Dr. T.H. Lowers on … Continue reading →

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Officer C.A. May, End of Watch

Posted on February 3, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 3, 1907Los Angeles About 1 a.m. on a dark corner at East Adams and South San Pedro, the hard, shabby life of William Ross ended when he said, “What in hell are you fellows up to?,” drew a pistol … Continue reading →

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A Trip to the Zoo

Posted on February 2, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 2, 1907Los Angeles Conditions at Chutes Park are so bad that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is making a second inspection to see whether operator J.B. Lehigh has made any improvements before his Feb. 20 … Continue reading →

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Strange Fruit

Posted on February 1, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 1, 1907Los Angeles I was all set to write about Leroyxez, “The Human Pincushion,” being nailed to a cross promptly at 4 p.m. at Chutes Park, and then a story about lynching in the U.S. caught my eye. Year … Continue reading →

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On the Frontiers of Medicine

Posted on January 31, 2007 by lmharnisch

Jan. 31, 1907Los Angeles Showing once again that Los Angeles is out of touch with Sacramento, local health officials are fighting an education bill that would lift mandatory smallpox vaccinations for schoolchildren. Vaccinations were opposed for several reasons in the … Continue reading →

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Stuck Fast

Posted on January 30, 2007 by lmharnisch

Jan. 30, 1907Los Angeles Recent rains have left the city’s streets in terrible shape, as The Times shows in a photo taken at 1st Street and Spring. This wagon, pulled by a strong team, plunged up to its hubs in … Continue reading →

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An Apostle of the Past

Posted on January 29, 2007 by lmharnisch

Jan. 28, 1907Los Angeles William Jennings Bryan stepped from the Owl train to be greeted by a long-waiting crowd. “In appearance, Mr. Bryan has changed but little since he was last in Los Angeles,” The Times says. “In his manner, … Continue reading →

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A Most Remarkable Man

Posted on January 28, 2007 by lmharnisch

Jan 28, 1907Los Angeles “If my career seems strange to you, it seems stranger and more incredible to me,” Gen. Homer Lea once said. And indeed it was, for Lea’s life was the tale of a poor and badly handicapped … Continue reading →

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