Category Archives: Transportation

Jan. 23, 1958

Posted on January 23, 2008 by lmharnisch

A crowd at 5th Street and Main yells "Jump, Jump, Jump! Jump, you coward–jump!" as an unemployed railroad engineer stands at the edge of a hotel roof (the building isn’t identified, but I’m guessing it’s the Hotel Rosslyn) … And … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, LAPD, Suicide, Transportation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Jan. 23, 1958

Jan. 22, 1908

Posted on January 21, 2008 by lmharnisch

A juicy murder trial draws curious throngs … Food poisoning from a bad sausage kills a Civil War hero and his wife … And note the ad for the Salt Lake Route, which was acquired by Union Pacific in 1921… … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Downtown, Food and Drink, Transportation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Jan. 22, 1908

110 revisited

Posted on January 21, 2008 by lmharnisch

  Photograph by Larry Harnisch / Los Angeles Times Salonica Street is a popular dumping ground for cars that have been wrecked on the southbound Pasadena Freeway. This car has been sitting here for weeks. For a while, another wreck … Continue reading →

Posted in Freeways, Transportation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on 110 revisited

Jan. 20, 1908

Posted on January 20, 2008 by lmharnisch

  More than 200 African Americans gather at First Methodist Church to protest the vandalism of a house on East 33rd Street that was rented to a black family (above, the original Jan. 16, 1908, story) …  A man on … Continue reading →

Posted in @news, Countdown to Watts, Religion, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Jan. 20, 1908

Found on EBay

Posted on January 19, 2008 by lmharnisch

Here are a couple of interesting items on EBay, both related to Main Street (shout out to Bukowski Square! Let’s make it official). First, the Milano Cafe, 166 N. Main.   And here’s a shot of Main and 3rd.   … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Food and Drink, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Found on EBay

Jan. 16, 1908

Posted on January 16, 2008 by lmharnisch

A courtroom crowded with people hoping to hear juicy details in a murder trial… Animal cruelty in the Antelope Valley … Complaints about the mails … A pioneer returns to find Los Angeles greatly changed in his absence … And … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Jan. 13, 1908

Posted on January 13, 2008 by lmharnisch

An experiment in powering streetcars via rails rather than overhead wires (the car reaches 35 mph and the inventor says it could hit 70 mph–an interesting idea when sharing the street with horses and autos)… A clothing sale… And how … Continue reading →

Posted in Transportation | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Streetcar holdup

Posted on January 12, 2008 by lmharnisch

Jan. 12, 1908Los Angeles Streetcars robberies, although not everyday occurrences, were a regular risk 100 years ago on our sainted mass-transit system. In this instance, a passenger grabbed the bandit as he was holding two guns to the conductor’s head … Continue reading →

Posted in Homicide, Robberies, Transportation | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Streetcar holdup

Foreign cars

Posted on January 10, 2008 by lmharnisch

  Jan. 10, 1958Los Angeles This is an old joke, but these are old pictures: Question: Why don’t the British manufacture typewriters? Answer: They can’t figure out how to make them leak oil. OK, this is the Berkeley roadster, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Foreign cars

Jan. 6, 1908

Posted on January 6, 2008 by lmharnisch

This is an example of the ghastly injuries that occurred when a streetcar hit a horse. The stories in the days before papers published photos of breaking news were graphic and left little to the imagination–if you are a horse-lover, … Continue reading →

Posted in @news, Freeways, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Jan. 6, 1908

110 revisited

Posted on January 4, 2008 by lmharnisch

Jan. 5, 1908 Los Angeles Journey back with me now to the simple, carefree days of life in Los Angeles in 1908. You might wonder what our great-grandparents were up to 100 years ago, or 30 years before the ground-breaking … Continue reading →

Posted in Freeways, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

110 revisited

Posted on January 4, 2008 by lmharnisch

  Photograph by Larry Harnisch / Los Angeles Times Every year, in the middle of broken glass, bits of metal and trash, these California poppies come up in a crack in the pavement at the Salonica Street entrance to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Transportation | Tagged , | Comments Off on 110 revisited

110 revisited

Posted on January 3, 2008 by lmharnisch

Feb. 11, 1917 Los Angeles The Times published a map of the Silver Lake Parkway, intended as a beautification project for something called the Bimini Slough. The article notes that Westlake (MacArthur) and Sunset (Lafayette) parks were also built from … Continue reading →

Posted in Freeways, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

110 revisited

Posted on January 2, 2008 by lmharnisch

  Photographs by Larry Harnisch / Los Angeles Times   I found a trace of the past while exploring Sterling Place just west of Orange Grove Avenue: A parking sign from the Automobile Club of Southern California. I can’t say … Continue reading →

Posted in Freeways, Transportation | Tagged , , | Comments Off on 110 revisited

110 revisited

Posted on December 31, 2007 by lmharnisch

  I realized I got more than I bargained for as soon as I found this map among The Times pictures of the Pasadena Freeway. As this 1912 map shows, the Arroyo Seco Parkway was originally intended to link Elysian … Continue reading →

Posted in Freeways, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The 110 revisited

Posted on December 30, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Photograph by the Los Angeles Times, July 23, 1939 He looks out from the bridge as if he is gazing toward the future. Not that this is what the photographer intended. Like The Times "Scout Car," a new 1939 … Continue reading →

Posted in Freeways, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Traffic jam

Posted on December 16, 2007 by lmharnisch

Sept. 18, 1913 Los Angeles   To anyone who thinks traffic is a new problem here: Los Angeles studies elevated trains in an attempt to relieve congested streets–nearly a century ago. 

Posted in Transportation | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Traffic jam

Gas prices

Posted on December 1, 2007 by lmharnisch

Nov. 22, 1957Los Angeles The statements in this ad may all sound remarkably familiar. In case you young people are wondering what’s going on in this picture: Once upon a time there were service station attendants who pumped the gas … Continue reading →

Posted in Transportation | Tagged , | Comments Off on Gas prices

Things to come

Posted on November 25, 2007 by lmharnisch

Nov. 25, 1957Los Angeles The designers display a painting of the proposed Theme Building at LAX:  

Posted in Transportation, travel, UFOs | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Things to come

Traffic jam

Posted on November 20, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Los Angeles Times Photograph This is Main Street, Los Angeles, 1911. I am posting this photo for the benefit of everyone who believes that traffic is a new problem. Los Angeles residents in the early 20th century were already … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments