Category Archives: Streetcars

January 5, 1907: A Fatal Can of Beans

Posted on January 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 5, 1907: Food poisoning from aged cans of pork and beans kills three people staying at a mountain cabin. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars | Leave a comment

January 4, 1907: The Mayor Departs From His Prepared Remarks

Posted on January 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 4, 1907: Mayor-elect Arthur C. Harper lays aside his prepared speech and tells an audience that he would look at every department in city government and that he had complete faith in the Owens River project. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, LAPD, Streetcars | Leave a comment

December 31, 1907: Old Watchman, Beaten by Robbers, Revealed as Cocaine Addict

Posted on December 31, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 31, 1907: W.H. Reynolds laid out all night after being beaten up and thrown in the weeds by two robbers. Hospital staff found his arms and legs covered with needle marks from where he had injected himself with cocaine. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, LAPD, Medicine, Streetcars | Tagged 1907, cocaine, crime and courts, drug addiction, medicine | Leave a comment

December 30, 1941: L.A. Women Are Slackers in Fighting the Axis!

Posted on December 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 30, 1941: December 30, 1941: It seems that local women didn’t get the memo about the being the “Greatest Generation.” They’re a bunch of slackers in the war against the Axis and don’t want to work as air-raid wardens. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Streetcars, Theaters, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged #Jack Benny, #John Carradine, #Lana Turner, #Lon Chaney Jr., #Lucille Ball, #Marie MacDonald | Leave a comment

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

Posted on December 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 30, 1907: Six Civil War veterans are jailed on charges of being drunk and rowdy in Sawtelle, the settlement outside the gates of the veterans home. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Civil War, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Food and Drink, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged #Civil War, 1907, alcohol, crime and courts, food and drink, jails, Sawtelle, veterans | Leave a comment

December 22, 1907: For I Was Homeless and You Ran Me In — L.A. Prepares for ‘Hobo Season’

Posted on December 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 22, 1907: Los Angeles prepares for ‘Hobo Season’ with posters warning that the city sentenced the homeless to the chain gang. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, Streetcars | Tagged 1907, chain gang, crime and courts, homelessness, housing, lapd | Comments Off

December 20, 1907: Miracle Doctor Fer-Don Cures Man of 90-Foot Tape Worm!

Posted on December 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 20, 1907: Miracle doctor “The Great Fer-Don” comes to Los Angeles, with ads boasting of his amazing cures. Alas, his health tonic was merely colored water and a felony warrant was issued for him and his wife. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, 1909, LAPD, Medicine, Pasadena, Streetcars | Tagged 1907, crime and courts, medicine, patent medicine, quacks, tapeworms | Comments Off

December 13, 1907: The Annual Rite of ‘Messiah’ at Cold, Drafty Shrine Auditorium

Posted on December 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 13, 1907: An unidentified Times critic attends a performance of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ at Shrine Auditorium. An exercise in decrypting a music review of another era. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Music, Religion, Streetcars | Tagged 1907, Handel, Messiah, Music, Shrine Auditorium | Comments Off

December 9, 1907: Black LAPD Officer Blames Firing on Racism, Rejoins Fire Department

Posted on December 9, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 9, 1907: Mayor Harper has restored E.J. Bowen to his old job in the Fire Department after the rookie police officer was fired for allegedly being a coward—a charge that Bowen, who is Black, blames on racism. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, Fires, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged 1907, African Americans, Fire Department, lapd, racism | Comments Off

December 4, 1911: Man Arrested for ‘Masquerading in Female Attire’

Posted on December 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 4, 1911: Clarence Westfall, 22, is arrested for masquerading in female attire when the boat from San Diego docks in San Pedro. Continue reading →

Posted in 1908, 1911, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Fashions, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Streetcars | Tagged #LGBT, 1911, crime and courts, crossdressing | Comments Off

December 3, 1907: Gunman Kills LAPD Officer; Dies in Slow Agony Awaiting the Gallows

Posted on December 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 3,1907: Daniel Meskil kills LAPD Officer Patrick Lyons, who was trying to arrest Meskil and his companion, Rolla Robe. Meskil was sentenced to be hanged at San Quentin, but died of injuries from jumping off a roof during an escape attempt. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged 1907, crime and courts, Daniel Meskil, End of Watch, lapd, Patrick Lyons, Rolla Robe | Comments Off

November 30, 2006: Architectural Rambling

Posted on November 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

Some “architectural rambling” photos I took in 2006 for a blog post on historic structures. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Architecture, Freeways, Hollywood, Pasadena, Photography, Streetcars | Tagged 1906, 2006, Architecture, Jay Leno | Comments Off

November 30, 1907: Witness Against Mexican Revolutionaries Poisoned!

Posted on November 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 30, 1907: A closely guarded witness in the trial of the Mexican revolutionaries goes into convulsions after being allowed to have lunch at a local cafe. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged 1907, Antonio Villareal, L. Gutierrez De Lara, Librado Rivera, Mexican Revolution, Ricardo Flores Magon | Comments Off

November 27, 1941: Streetcar Companies Ask Council to End Bus Ban in Downtown L.A.

Posted on November 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 27, 1941: The Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railways ask the City Council to repeal a ban against buses operating in downtown Los Angeles. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Streetcars, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged #Red Cars, #transportation, #Yellow Cars, buses, Streetcars | 1 Comment

November 21, 1907: Mother, 17, Throws Baby From Train to Hide ‘Shame’ From Family

Posted on November 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 21, 1907: Louise Williams is arrested on charges of throwing her baby from an inbound train. “She was suddenly overwhelmed with the shame of meeting her mother and sisters at Los Angeles, who had not learned of her ruin,” her attorney said. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged #trains, 1907, 1908, African Americans, crime and courts, infanticide | Comments Off

November 20, 1907: Police Capture Streetcar Bandits

Posted on November 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 20, 1907: Police arrest two men who staged daring holdups on the Ascot Park and Eastlake streetcars, robbing the motormen and conductors as the cars reached the ends of their routes. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged 1907, crime and courts, lapd, Streetcars, transportation | Comments Off

November 16, 1907: Husband in Elaborate Disguise Shoots Estranged Wife on Streetcar

Posted on November 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 16,1907: Frederick Cook faces trial for shooting his estranged wife on a streetcar, disguising himself so she wouldn’t recognize him. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged 1907, 1908, crime and courts, domestic violence, homicide, roller skating | Comments Off

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

Posted on November 15, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 15, 1907: Charles Mulford Robinson proposes a grand boulevard for downtown Los Angeles, from a proposed Union Station ending at a new public library and art gallery. And a new City Hall. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Books and Authors, City Hall, Downtown, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | Tagged 1907, Charles Mulford Robinson, City Beautiful | Comments Off

November 12, 1941: Crowds Line Broadway for Armistice Day Parade

Posted on November 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 12, 1941: Crowds line Broadway in downtown Los Angeles for the annual Armistice Day parade, which marked the end of what used to be called the Great War or the World War – until we had another one. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, A Kinder, Simpler Time, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged #Carole Landis, #John Huston, #Walter Huston | Comments Off

November 4, 1907: Final Crash Finishes Off Ford Runabout, but Driver Survives to Race Again

Posted on November 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 4, 1907: Luck finally runs out for Eugene Rowe’s runabout, which was repaired after being smashed by a trolley, then crashed during practice for the Thanksgiving run. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Motorsports, Pasadena, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged 1907, Motorsports, racing, Streetcars, transportation | Comments Off