Category Archives: Streetcars

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 →

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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 , , , , | 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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 , , | Comments Off on November 12, 1941: Crowds Line Broadway for Armistice Day Parade

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 →

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October 22, 1907: Mayor’s Son Gives a Lesson in Identifying L.A. County Sheriff’s Badges

Posted on October 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 22, 1907: Mayor’s son gives a lesson on L.A. County sheriff’s badges. Continue reading →

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October 17, 1907: All-White USC Football Team Starts Race Riot Over Tackle by Black Player From Whittier

Posted on October 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 17, 1907: A Black player from Whittier State tackles a player for USC’s all-white team, setting off a fight between the teams. Continue reading →

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October 13, 1907: 2 Die in Tong War

Posted on October 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 13, 1907: Gunmen imported from out of town by the Hop Sing Tong entered the tailor shop of Lem Sing at 806 Juan St. in Chinatown and under the pretense of having some clothing made, wounded him and killed Wong Goon Kor. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Education, Food and Drink, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off on October 13, 1907: 2 Die in Tong War

September 13, 1947: The Light Rail That Failed — Transit Plan Calls for Trains on Freeway Medians

Posted on September 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 13, 1947: A committee studying Los Angeles’ transportation issues recommends high-speed rail arteries, including tracks down the medians of express highways. Continue reading →

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Sept. 13, 1907: Girl’s Foot Amputated After Being Crushed by Streetcar

Posted on September 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 13, 1907: A girl’s foot is amputated after she was hit by a streetcar. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Pasadena, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

September 11, 1947: Driver of Beer Wagon Gets Revenge on Streetcars

Posted on September 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 11, 1947: Joseph P. Johnston is a career safecracker who gave up his trade during World War II, considering it unpatriotic, but is up to his old ways. And a flashback to 1905, when a beer truck driver gets revenge on L.A.’s sainted streetcars by blocking the tracks. Continue reading →

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September 11, 1907: In Praise of the Corset for the ‘Woman Who Weighs a Ton’

Posted on September 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 11, 1907: “The woman who gets the proper sort of corset will have the fashionable figure, even if she weighs a ton,” says Elizabeth A.C. White. Continue reading →

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September 7, 1907: Typhoid, Diphtheria, Scarlet Fever and Tuberculosis

Posted on September 7, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 7,1907: No measles or smallpox cases for August, and diphtheria, scarlet fever and tuberculosis are down. Typhoid cases, however, are increasing. Continue reading →

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September 5, 1943: Union Pleads With Streetcar Workers Not to Strike

Posted on September 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 5, 1943: The head of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen pleased with Pacific Electric workers not to strike. Eight to 10 streetcar workers are quitting every day to take better jobs. Continue reading →

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September 4, 1933: Man Kills Wife and Daughter, Commits Suicide Over Pink Bedroom

Posted on September 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 4, 1933: A man fatally stabs his estranged wife and daughter, then slits his throat after an argument because his wife had the bedroom painted pink. Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Art & Artists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Homicide, LAPD, Main Street, Nightclubs, San Fernando Valley, Streetcars, Suicide, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on September 4, 1933: Man Kills Wife and Daughter, Commits Suicide Over Pink Bedroom

September 3, 1907: A Oration for Labor Day

Posted on September 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 3, 1907: The Times criticizes Hearst papers “for their persistent efforts to teach the working people of America that they are the slaves of the ‘predatory rich’; that every corporation is a conspiracy to rob; that all capitalists are brainless brutes; that the government of the United States is a corrupt glutocracy.” Continue reading →

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August 30, 1907: Rabbi Leads Campaign to Open Hebrew University in L.A.

Posted on August 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 30, 1907: Rabbi Alfred Arndt of Congregation Beth Israel leads an effort to open what The Times describes as “the only Hebrew university within the entire United States.” Continue reading →

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