Category Archives: Transportation

Rave Review on Amazon, Only $5

Photo: Edsel Ford III, left, and Edsel Ford II at the wheel of the Model 40. Credit: Edsel and Eleanor Ford House. David Streitfeld of the New York Times reports on how authors, restaurants and hotels can buy a positive … Continue reading

Posted in Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Coming Attractions, Music, Religion, Transportation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Rave Review on Amazon, Only $5

Scarlett’s Costumes Nearly ‘Gone With the Wind’

Photo: Crane bathroom fixtures. Credit: Life magazine, April 29, 1957.   We grew up in a sterile, cookie-cutter home, on a sterile, cookie-cutter street, in a sterile suburb of Chicago, where all the people were white and all the bathrooms … Continue reading

Posted in 1957, African Americans, Architecture, Fashion, Film, Futurism, Hollywood, Interior Design, Preservation, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Found on EBay – C.C. Pierce Photos of 1910 Aviation Meet

Four postcards of the January 1910 Aviation Meet in Los Angeles, taken by the C.C. Pierce studio, have been listed on EBay. The meet was held at Dominguez Field and is one of the major events in the history of … Continue reading

Posted in 1910, Aviation, Photography, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Marion Eisenmann: Artist’s Notebook – Union Station

“Union Station” by Marion Eisenmann, Aug, 8, 2009 Note: I’m reposting the artwork Marion Eisenmann did several years ago. It’s a pleasure to share her work with a new audience.

Posted in 1939, Art & Artists, Artist's Notebook, Downtown, Marion Eisenmann, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Van Nuys Plane Crash Kills 2 – Aug. 11, 1941

Aug. 11, 1941: Walter P. Palmer and William S. Raney are killed when their plane goes into a spin during a flying lesson and crashes into a bean field at Woodley Avenue and Oxnard Street in Van Nuys, which is … Continue reading

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Lee Shippey, Politics, San Fernando Valley, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

#art, #black dahlia, #books, #courts, #crime, #history, #railroads, 8|10|2011

Photo: BMW M1. Credit: Bonhams A BMW M1 painted by Frank Stella is being auctioned at the Quail Lodge Sale, Aug. 18-19, in Carmel. The BWM belonged to racecar driver Peter Gregg, who committed suicide after an accident left him … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, History, Motorsports, Museums, Politics, Transportation, Washington | 2 Comments

#history, #libraries, #museums 7|28|2011

Image: Battle of Manila Bay. Credit: Wikipedia NEWS Justin Jouvenal in the Washington Post’s Buzz, writes that the Patsy Cline Historic House is opening in Winchester, Va., on Aug. 2. The Independence Seaport Museum has made an emergency patch on … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Artists, History, Libraries, Museums, Music, Preservation, Retro, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Found on EBay – Arroyo Seco Parkway

This postcard of the new Arroyo Seco Parkway, a name that has been restored after decades of being called the Pasadena Freeway, has been listed on EBay. For more than a year, drivers have had to contend with construction of … Continue reading

Posted in Found on EBay, Freeways, Transportation | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Found on EBay – Mt. Lowe Railway

Postcards and photos of the railway trip to Mt. Lowe, with its hairpin turns around the mountains, are quite common – but a brass model of the car in HO gauge? That’s a new one on me. This intriguing item, … Continue reading

Posted in Found on EBay, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , | 10 Comments

CARMAGEDDON on the 405

OK, as long as we’re satirizing Carmageddon with a Hitler rant, here’s my favorite humorous video set on the 405. It’s by Bruce Branit and Jeremy Hunt.

Posted in Film, Transportation | Tagged | 3 Comments

#history, #museum

David Dunlap has a great story in the New York Times’ City Room about the return of an eagle head, sculpted by Adolph A. Weinman, that was salvaged from the demolition of Pennsylvania Station. There’s lots more about bits and … Continue reading

Posted in History, Museums, Preservation, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Here’s another mystery photo, courtesy of Steven Bibb. There’s a closer look on the jump. [Update: This is Dorothea Wieck (d. 1986), known for “Maedchen in Uniform,” arriving in Los Angeles, April 13, 1933. She returned to Germany because she … Continue reading

Posted in 1933, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

From the Archives: King Tut Bus

Primary Resources, a blog of Metro’s Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive, has posted some images of vehicles, including this “King Tut bus,” decorated for the U.S. tour of “The Treasures of King Tutankhamun”  exhibit, which was on display … Continue reading

Posted in 1978, Museums, Photography, Transportation | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Charlie Chaplin’s Big Moment in Venice

I was intrigued by Sunday’s Then and Now piece by Anthony Mostrom on Charlie Chaplin’s “Kid Auto Races at Venice” and I thought I’d do a little digging. Here’s what I found. The film includes footage of two races. One … Continue reading

Posted in 1914, Film, Hollywood, Libraries, Photography, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

From the Reference Desk: Movie Star’s Mother Dies in Car Crash

Here’s a lesson in what to do if you don’t have access to ProQuest. Stacia of She Blogged by Night had a question the other day about car a accident involving Vera Steadman, Al Christie and Marie Prevost’s Mother, Mrs. … Continue reading

Posted in 1926, Film, From the Reference Desk, Hollywood, Libraries, Obituaries, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The Mystery of the Transparent Car

For sale: A transparent Pontiac! The sale car is on display in St. Petersburg, Fla., Feb. 19, 1940. The sale car on display in Spokane, Wash., in 1941. But wait! A different transparent Pontiac is on display in Los Angeles … Continue reading

Posted in 1939, 1940, 1941, Art & Artists, Transportation | 8 Comments

Heresy on L.A. Streetcars!

My hair (or what’s left of it) stood on end when I read this portion of Tim Rutten’s column on Wednesday about Rick Caruso’s mayoral campaign: Mythology has it that the old Red Cars were killed by a conspiracy, but … Continue reading

Posted in City Hall, Columnists, Downtown, Politics, Transportation | 7 Comments

LAPD End of Watch, June 15, 1920

Dec. 23, 1915: LAPD motorcycle officers take delivery of 37 new Indian motorcycles, capable of 75 mph. The daily NewsWatch of the Los Angeles Police Protective League always honors the anniversaries of LAPD officers killed in the line of duty. … Continue reading

Posted in 1911, 1915, 1920, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Obituaries, San Fernando Valley, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , | Comments Off on LAPD End of Watch, June 15, 1920

Immigrants Overwhelm San Diego!

San Diego has everything a family might want: A moderate climate and jobs in the expanding defense industries. But there’s no place to live.  Rep. John H. Tolan (D-Oakland) is holding hearings in San Diego on the plight of migrants … Continue reading

Posted in 1941, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Environment, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Immigration, LAPD, San Diego, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Army Clears Strikers at North American Aviation

June 10, 1941: Bill Henry files a color story on soldiers using rifles with bayonets to herd strikers away from the North American Aviation plant. Unfortunately, my new optical character recognition software can’t handle these old clips, so I have … Continue reading

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Transportation, World War II | Comments Off on Army Clears Strikers at North American Aviation