Category Archives: Transportation

Sketchbook

Posted on June 22, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 22, 2007 Los Angeles I got on the Red Line at the 7th and Figueroa station last night to find two teenage boys with skateboards at one end of the car. They called out an odd warning for all … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Downtown, Transportation | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Sketchbook

Ay caramba!

Posted on June 20, 2007 by lmharnisch

Update: The 1957 Chevrolet featured earlier this month in the post about decoding production numbers sold on EBay for $35,999. That is some serious change. How much? About $5,024.09 USD 1957. Let’s check in with Weird Al.

Posted in Transportation | Tagged , | Comments Off on Ay caramba!

10 Fwy

Posted on June 17, 2007 by lmharnisch

And you know what? It wasn’t even on Page 1. June 17, 1957Los Angeles Part 1 Part 2

Posted in Downtown, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on 10 Fwy

Weird wheels

Posted on June 16, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 16, 1957 Los Angeles Hi, my name is Larry, and I owned a DKW. Hi Larry! Seriously. Induced by a crazy college friend, I bought one of these things in the early 1970s for about $30 and it … Continue reading →

Posted in Transportation | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Weird wheels

Zombie Plymouth!

Posted on June 15, 2007 by lmharnisch

Tulsa, Okla., unearths the buried 1957 Plymouth. Photo by KOTV.comWatch KOTV’s video here.

Posted in Transportation | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Zombie Plymouth!

Future shock

Posted on June 14, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 14, 1957Los Angeles Sometimes predictions for the future are simply painful to read. The people living in 1957 were prolific in sketching out hopeful plans. Some of them were foolish (I think we can safely eliminate the atomic-powered … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, San Fernando Valley, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Future shock

1957 Chevy

Posted on June 11, 2007 by lmharnisch

In February 1957, after adding 300,000 square feet, the General Motors' Van Nuys plant (note: it's really in Panorama City) began making station wagons and convertibles.  A spokesman says the plant is producing 150 cars a day in five different … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Freeways, Rock 'n' Roll, San Fernando Valley, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on 1957 Chevy

Reprieve

Posted on April 28, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 28, 1957 Los Angeles A boy (and how anyone knows it was a boy is never explained) came across a stalled car on the Southern Pacific right of way near Valley Boulevard and Boca Avenue in Alhambra.  He  ran … Continue reading →

Posted in Transportation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Reprieve

If you build it, they will drive

Posted on April 25, 2007 by lmharnisch

As envisioned, 1957 As built, below, looking north from Slauson As used, below, looking north from Slauson, April 22, 2007 The Harbor Freeway, below, looking south from 42nd Street, 1957. Note there are no center guardrails. The Harbor Freeway, below, … Continue reading →

Posted in Freeways, Transportation | Comments Off on If you build it, they will drive

In Which a Ghostly Visitor Returns

Posted on March 15, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 15, 2007Los Angeles “Well, dear boy, I suppose you thought you were through.” “Yes, I did.” “And?” “Good grief! Do you see this bridge over the Gold Line? It looks like it’s held up with hairpins and spit!” “Saliva, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Comics, Education, Immigration, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters, Transportation | Tagged | Comments Off on In Which a Ghostly Visitor Returns

Random Shots From Our 12-Bore

Posted on February 11, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 11, 1907Los Angeles The Eastside gets a new Baptist Church and 2nd Street and St. Louis. Like Tom and Huck A large pond 7 feet deep at Normandie and San Marino left by the runoff of recent rainstorms proved … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Comments Off on Random Shots From Our 12-Bore

Centennial Ramblings

Posted on February 5, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 5, 2007Sierra Madre Because it’s celebrating its centennial this month, I paid a visit to Sierra Madre and while savoring a cinnamon dolce latte at the local Starbucks, watched the sun set on a historic Union 76 ball. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Donald Wolfe, LAPD, Photography, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged | Comments Off on Centennial Ramblings

Officer C.A. May, End of Watch

Posted on February 3, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 3, 1907Los Angeles About 1 a.m. on a dark corner at East Adams and South San Pedro, the hard, shabby life of William Ross ended when he said, “What in hell are you fellows up to?,” drew a pistol … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Comments Off on Officer C.A. May, End of Watch

The Floods

Posted on January 10, 2007 by lmharnisch

Jan. 9-10, 1907 The worst storm in 23 years blew across Southern California with the force of a gale, dumping more than an inch of rain in Pasadena, killing an Orange County rancher, washing out railroad tracks and collapsing tunnels, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Downtown, LAPD, Pasadena, San Fernando Valley, Streetcars, Transportation | Comments Off on The Floods

The Old Men in Blue

Posted on December 30, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 30, 1907Los AngelesJames Sullivan, 64, was a prisoner of the Confederates held at Belle Isle, Libby and Andersonville, where he and war correspondent Albert D. Richardson escaped by tunneling for three months with a spoon.Henry Russell, formerly of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Downtown, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Comments Off on The Old Men in Blue

Not a Coward

Posted on December 9, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 9, 1907Los AngelesMayor 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.Bowen transferred to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Comments Off on Not a Coward

In the Line of Duty

Posted on December 3, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 3, 1907Los AngelesOfficer Patrick Lyons had been on the force for four months when he was shot in the head while trying to arrest two robbers a little after 11 p.m. at Central Avenue and 14th Street.There’s no picture … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Education, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Comments Off on In the Line of Duty

A Vintage Development

Posted on December 2, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 2, 1907Los AngelesThe Times real estate section features an apartment building at 2nd Street and Figueroa—no point in even going to look for it. But there’s also a large ad for the Erkenbrecher Syndicate’s Glendale Valley View Tract.An unknown … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Real Estate, Streetcars, Transportation | Comments Off on A Vintage Development

Highwaymen Captured

Posted on November 20, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 20, 1907Los Angeles Police battling the current crime wave say they have arrested 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 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Comments Off on Highwaymen Captured

Crime Wave Sweeps L.A.

Posted on November 19, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 19, 1907Los Angeles An influx of crooks, petty hoodlums and vagrants drawn by good weather and horse racing at Santa Anita are blamed for a siege of crime throughout the city. The jail is so crowded—300 being held in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Religion, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , | Comments Off on Crime Wave Sweeps L.A.