Category Archives: Transportation

Chauffeur Is Speed Crazy

Posted on April 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

April 2, 1910: "The motorcycle men are after me and they will never get me," he cried. "I'm going to give them a race for their money this time. If they get me they will send me to jail."

Posted in Downtown, LAPD, Transportation | 1 Comment

Oil!

Posted on March 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

  March 22, 1910: Oil executive A.B. Cohn says "… the Lakeview gusher can be seen sprouting oil like a miniature volcano for 20 miles across the desert country and it is impossible to approach within a reasonable distance of … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Transportation | Comments Off on Oil!

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, March 21 1960

Posted on March 21, 2010 by lmharnisch

Journalism Lesson From a Dixie Editor     My mother didn’t exactly cancel her subscription to The Mirror News. What she did, she called me up — collect — from her flat in the Bronx just before Christmas last year with … Continue reading →

Posted in Caryl Chessman, Columnists, Countdown to Watts, Front Pages, Paul Coates, Science, Transportation | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, March 21 1960

‘Champion Speeder’ Gets Term in Jail

Posted on March 21, 2010 by lmharnisch

March 21, 1920: William A. Marr says his motorcycle doesn’t work well unless he’s going 40 mph.

Posted in Transportation | Comments Off on ‘Champion Speeder’ Gets Term in Jail

Golden State Freeway Segment Opens

Posted on March 19, 2010 by lmharnisch

  March 19, 1960: A 2.8-mile section of the Golden State Freeway opens and  officials hope that it will relieve congestion. Also on the jump, complaints about poorly designed off-ramps on the Ventura Freeway in the San Fernando Valley … … Continue reading →

Posted in Dodgers, Film, Hollywood, Sports, Transportation | Comments Off on Golden State Freeway Segment Opens

Car Theft Victim Calls for Crackdown on Joyriding

Posted on March 19, 2010 by lmharnisch

  March 19, 1910: Until recently, about three cars a week were stolen in Los Angeles, The Times says.

Posted in #courts, LAPD, Transportation | Comments Off on Car Theft Victim Calls for Crackdown on Joyriding

Artist’s Notebook: Travel Town

Posted on March 19, 2010 by lmharnisch

“Travel Town,” by Marion Eisenmann. Marion Eisenmann and I went to Travel Town in Griffith Park last summer because the old trains are popular with young children and I thought there would be some opportunities for interesting sketch subjects. It … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, Marion Eisenmann, Parks and Recreation, Transportation | 1 Comment

Auto Club Offers to Pay for LAPD Detectives

Posted on March 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

March 17, 1920: This little, nearly illegible item is interesting for several reasons. The Police Department is chronically shorthanded, so the Automobile Club of Southern California volunteers to pay for two detectives if they are assigned exclusively to handle auto … Continue reading →

Posted in LAPD, Transportation | Comments Off on Auto Club Offers to Pay for LAPD Detectives

Get Perking: Coffee Hits 15 Cents a Cup

Posted on March 15, 2010 by lmharnisch

Catch a snooze on the Freeway Flyer!  March 15, 1960: Coffee goes to 15 cents a cup, which would be $1.07 today, adjusted for inflation. Not quite the price of a venti caramel brulee at Starbucks. On the jump: “I … Continue reading →

Posted in Caryl Chessman, Food and Drink, Transportation | Comments Off on Get Perking: Coffee Hits 15 Cents a Cup

Man Attacks Wife, Commits Suicide in Custody Dispute

Posted on March 15, 2010 by lmharnisch

March 15, 1920: Two streetcar passengers prevent J.B. Claverie from slashing his wife and escape injury when his pistol fails to fire. After the attack failed, Claverie killed himself with strychnine.

Posted in #courts, Suicide, Transportation | Comments Off on Man Attacks Wife, Commits Suicide in Custody Dispute

Texas Politician Opposes the Automobile

Posted on March 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

  March 12, 1920: Former Texas Sen. Joe Bailey wants to abolish autos except for businesses, according to his opponents in the governor’s race. Bailey says, “I believe that next to the dog, the horse is man's best friend." More … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Comics, Politics, Transportation | 1 Comment

Robber Holds Up Streetcar

Posted on March 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

March 12, 1910: This story reminds me of Walter Collins’ streetcar robberies, but those didn’t occur until 1923. In fact, a streetcar conductor killed a robber in 1908.

Posted in Changeling, Robberies, Transportation | 1 Comment

No Street Parking in Downtown L.A.

Posted on March 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

March 11, 1920: What Los Angeles is coming to without street parking in downtown, by Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale. The ban was adopted to ease the seemingly ageless problem of traffic. 

Posted in Downtown, Transportation | Comments Off on No Street Parking in Downtown L.A.

Pasadena Raids Illegal Stock Exchange

Posted on March 10, 2010 by lmharnisch

  March 10, 1910: A speeding streetcar takes a curve too fast at 7th and Alvarado, jumps the tracks and goes tearing into what’s now MacArthur Park. If it hadn’t run into a telegraph pole and a pepper tree, it … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Transportation | Comments Off on Pasadena Raids Illegal Stock Exchange

Car Thief Bluffs His Way Out of Tight Spot

Posted on March 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

  March 9, 1910: One car thief is a fellow with a lot of nerve who tries to talk himself out of a bad situation. On the jump, the rest of the story… and a dying woman uses her children’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Transportation | Comments Off on Car Thief Bluffs His Way Out of Tight Spot

Baptismal Records Hold Evidence in Suit Over Pioneer’s Estate

Posted on March 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

   March 3, 1920: I’m sure the concept of this ad seemed fine. But we have a slightly malevolent fellow spilling grease that turns into a highway. Maybe that’s why we don’t hear much about Gredag these days. On the … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Comics, Environment, Film, Hollywood, Transportation | 2 Comments

Downtown Parking Ban to Ease Traffic

Posted on February 28, 2010 by lmharnisch

  To ease congested streets, Los Angeles will ban street parking from Figueroa to Los Angeles streets and 1st to 9th streets. Notice that Spring hasn’t been straightened out yet, another attempt to relieve traffic.    L.O. Keown  and his … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Education, Freeways, Transportation | 1 Comment

Mob Beats Strikebreakers, Police

Posted on February 27, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Feb. 27, 1910: Crowds in Philadelphia attack non-union men operating the streetcars, beating them and the police officers protecting them …  F.D. Underwood, president of the Erie Railroad, says: "There is a growing spirit of greed in this country … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Transportation | Comments Off on Mob Beats Strikebreakers, Police

California Limited Sets Speed Record

Posted on February 26, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Feb. 26, 1910: The Santa Fe’s California Limited cuts hours off the trip from Chicago to Los Angeles, hitting 65 mph between Gallup, N.M., and Winslow, Ariz.

Posted in Transportation, travel | Comments Off on California Limited Sets Speed Record

Artist’s Notebook: Corvette Driver

Posted on February 26, 2010 by lmharnisch

 “Corvette Driver,” by Marion Eisenmann Feb. 22, 2010: Marion Eisenmann sends a drawing of a Corvette and its driver that she saw over the weekend. Marion writes: After heading out for a bike ride with two male friends at Bonelli … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, Marion Eisenmann, Transportation | Comments Off on Artist’s Notebook: Corvette Driver