Category Archives: Transportation

July 6, 1947: 1930 Duesenberg Convertible for Sale. Best Offer

Posted on July 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Sigh.

Posted in 1930, 1947, Transportation | Tagged #cars, 1930, 1947, Duesenbergs | 2 Comments

July 3, 1907: Head of Anti-Fakers League Says Gunfire Was Real

Posted on July 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 3, 1907 Los Angeles Robert T. Hall, head of the Los Angeles Anti-Fakers League (or Anti-Fakers Society), says shots were fired at him as he returned from an outing to a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Religion, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged #Fakes, #Hoaxes, 1907, 1908, religion, spiritualism | Comments Off

July 1, 1907: What Was the Gas Mileage of the Horseless Carriage?

Posted on July 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 1, 1907 Los Angeles If you ever wondered if the Locomobile or Pope-Hartford got great gas mileage, the answer is no, as shown in the results of the 185-mile Lakeside Endurance … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged #cars, 1907, automobiles, transportation | 2 Comments

June 26, 1947: Helicopter Hovers Over Clipper Ship

Posted on June 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. An unknown press photographer in Long Beach captured them in a small fraction of a second, the old three-masted square-rigger and the brand-new helicopter: old and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Aviation, Transportation | Tagged 1947, aviation, helicopters, Pacific Queen, transportation | Comments Off

June 23, 1907: Auto Club Begins Posting Road Signs Along Future Route 66

Posted on June 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 23, 1907 Los Angeles The Auto Club of Southern California has begun posting white enamel signs with blue lettering along Foothill Boulevard between Los Angeles and Riverside. Spending about half a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Pasadena, Transportation | 1 Comment

June 14, 1907: 3 Berkeley Students Walk Home to L.A. in 27 Days

Posted on June 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 14, 1907 Los Angeles Like many young men, Stuart, Sayre and Maynard decided to walk home from school—but it was a bit farther for these college friends because they were going … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Education, Hollywood, LAPD, Transportation | Tagged 1907, Berkeley, education, travel | 4 Comments

1935 Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux

Posted on June 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

One of the joys of living in Southern California is the random opportunity to see gorgeous cars – new and vintage – in the wild. We saw this 1935 Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux a few blocks from the Daily Mirror … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Museums, Transportation | Tagged #cars, 1935, Bugatti, Petersen Automotive Museum, transportation, Ventoux | 1 Comment

June 8, 1947: Neighbors Organize to Block Workers for Trackless Trolleys

Posted on June 8, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Perhaps one of most the common and ingrained bits of wisdom about old Los Angeles is the vast conspiracy of bus companies and car dealers … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged 1947, NIMBY, Streetcars, trackless trolleys, transportation | 1 Comment

May 24, 1907: LAPD Motorcycle Officers Charge Driver and Passengers With Speeding

Posted on May 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. May 24, 1907 Los Angeles Otis Skinner, the actor starring in “The Duel” at the Mason Opera House,” is under arrest because of a curious regulation in which passengers of a speeding … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters, Transportation | Tagged #Mason Opera House, 1907, lapd, speeding, transportation | Comments Off

May 20, 1947: Madman Muntz Sells Cars at a Bargain

Posted on May 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

Posted in 1947, Transportation | Tagged #cars, 1947, Madman Muntz, transportation | 1 Comment

History Deals a Deadly Hand

Posted on May 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. May 12, 1907 We’ve been having fun all week with the Shriners, parading around in their costumes, engaging in peculiar rites and pondering silly questions like “What Makes the Wildcat Wild?” Then … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, African Americans, Transportation | Tagged #trains, 1907, Shriners, train wrecks, transportation | 2 Comments

May 4-6, 1907: Barney Oldfield’s Green Dragon Blazes Through Los Angeles

Posted on May 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. What is it about Angelenos that as soon as you put them behind the wheel of a car, they want to see how fast it will go? But it’s true. Great-grandpa was, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, LAPD, Sports, Transportation | Tagged 1907, Barney Oldfield, Green Dragon, hotrods, Motorsports, NHRA, sports | Comments Off

In Which a Ghostly Visitor Returns

Posted on March 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This post and the next were the finales of my crawl through 1907. Keep on reading because we will circle around with posts from 2006. March 15, 2007 Los Angeles “Well, dear boy, I suppose you thought you were … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Comics, Education, Immigration, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters, Transportation | Tagged 1907 | Comments Off

Black L.A. 1947: Late-Night Streetcar Service Captures the Heartbeat of the City

Posted on March 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

Feb. 27, 1947: I missed this ad for Los Angeles Transit Lines in my previous pass through the Sentinel and I just had to run it. Militant Angeleno: This is for you!

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged 1947, African Americans, Los Angeles Sentinel, Militant Angeleno, Streetcars, transportation | Comments Off

Feb. 11, 1907: Woman Fractures Skull Leaping From Streetcar That Passed Her Stop

Posted on February 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Feb. 11, 1907 Los 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 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Comments Off

Black L.A. 1947: Black Passenger Sues Greyhound After Driver Has Her Arrested for Not Giving Up Seat

Posted on February 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

At left, a three-unit property at 3509 5th Ave., listed for sale in 1947 at $17,500. Above, the property sold for $600,000 in 2016, according to Zillow. Feb. 6, 1947: The Sentinel reports on a lawsuit filed by Alpha … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Architecture, Crime and Courts, Transportation | Tagged 1947, African Americans, architecture, crime and courts, Greyhound, Los Angeles Sentinel, real estate | 4 Comments

Black L.A. 1947: Black, Jewish Protesters Picket Disney’s ‘Song of the South’ at RKO Hillstreet

Posted on February 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Above, the “trackless trolley,” which was powered by overhead cables but used tires rather than running on rails, is coming to Central Avenue. The trackless trolleys solved streetcars’ problems of maneuverability (passengers could board and disembark at the curb rather … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Film, Hollywood, Transportation | Tagged #disney, 1947, animation, Beale Street Mama, film, hollywood, Los Angeles Sentinel, Song of the South, Tales of Manhattan, trackless trolleys | Comments Off

Centennial Ramblings

Posted on February 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Feb. 5, 2007 Sierra 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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Donald Wolfe, LAPD, Photography, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged architecture | 2 Comments

Feb. 3, 1907: LAPD Officer Kills Homeless Man Who Shot Partner

Posted on February 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2007. Feb. 3, 1907 Los 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 … Continue reading →