Category Archives: Transportation

Met Takes Masterworks Off Display for the Duration

Posted on May 26, 2012 by lmharnisch

When Milton Caniff hasn’t filled up the panel with dialogue balloons – which is most of the time – he’s quite a dramatic artist. May 26, 1942: Edwin Schallert visits New York and writes about a promotional tour for “Yankee … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Pilot Lands P-38 Between Venice, Ocean Park Piers

Posted on May 17, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 17, 1942: Lt. William K. Long lands his P-38, with smoke pouring from one of the engines, between the Venice and Ocean Park piers. “Then, swimming a short distance through deep water, he waded ashore,” The Times said. Philip … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, African Americans, Film, Hollywood, Music, Mystery Photo, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

‘Full Service’: Fun With Fact-Checking, Part 7

Posted on March 1, 2012 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I’m doing a little fact-checking as I go through Scotty Bowers’ “Full Service.” This will be fairly tedious except to a research drudge. What is it about “Full Service” that inspires people to get … Continue reading →

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‘Full Service’: Fun With Fact-Checking, Part 4

Posted on February 24, 2012 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I’m doing a little fact-checking as I go through Scotty Bowers’ “Full Service.” This will be fairly tedious except to a research drudge. Yesterday, in Part 3, I was exploring the history of Hollywood … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transportation | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

U.S. Urged to Evacuate Japanese Immediately

Posted on January 31, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 31, 1942: Members of Congress from the West Coast call on the U.S. to expedite the evacuation of “enemy aliens,” a term that includes native-born people of Japanese ancestry. Officials concede that some of them may be loyal – … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, African Americans, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Politics, Richard Nixon, Streetcars, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on U.S. Urged to Evacuate Japanese Immediately

FBI Smashes Nazi Spy Ring in Beverly Hills: 3 Sent Coded Letters to Third Reich

Posted on January 29, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 29, 1942: The FBI accuses Dr. Hans Helmut Gros, his wife, Frances, and Albrecht Rudolf Curt Reuter of belonging to a Nazi spy ring. According to allegations, Gros, of 328 N. Maple Drive, sent letters to purported relatives that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

L.A. Studebaker Plant Converts to War Production

Posted on January 22, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 22, 1942: Chika Takamoto and Ryohei Tanaka are in jail for violating the federal ban on Japanese Americans possessing cameras or radios. Studebaker Pacific manufactures its last passenger car and converts to defense work “for the duration.” The Times … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Carole Lombard Among 22 Dead in Crash; Gable Charters Plane for Las Vegas

Posted on January 17, 2012 by lmharnisch

Photo: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard at home with their pet Siamese cats. Jan. 17, 1942: Carole Lombard, who was returning from a campaign to sell defense bonds; her mother, Elizabeth K. Peters; and MGM publicist Otto Winkler are among … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Animals, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Transportation | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Girl ‘11 or 12’ Taken From 62-Year-Old Husband

Posted on January 7, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 7, 1942: Whenever people give me this nonsense about the past being “a kinder, simpler time,” I always think of stories like Joe Downs and his “wife.” President Roosevelt delivers his annual State of the Union address, which was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Politics, Religion, Tom Treanor, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Removal of Streetcar Tracks Leaves Ugly Mess in Redondo Beach

Posted on January 5, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 5, 1942: Nazi patrols plow through students protesting in Paris’ Latin Quarter, “firing a warning burst from machine guns over the heads of the crowd” and then proceeding to “clean up the situation,” The New York Times reports. “A … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Environment, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Streetcars, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Removal of Streetcar Tracks Leaves Ugly Mess in Redondo Beach

Japanese Americans Held After ‘Hissing Roosevelt’ in Theater

Posted on January 3, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 3, 1942: Manila falls to the Japanese. “The Bare Facts of 1942” opens at the Aztec, 251 S. Main. Movie theater patrons Tombio Ambo and Shigeki Kayama are in custody after Winifred J. Stephens accused them of hissing a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Streetcars, Theaters, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

L.A. Women Are Slackers in Fighting the Axis!

Posted on December 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

Dec. 30, 1941: It seems that local women didn’t get the memo about the being the “Greatest Generation.” They’re a bunch of slackers in the war against the Axis and don’t want to work as air-raid wardens. “Los Angeles women … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Streetcars, Theaters, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

4 Die as Streetcar Crushes Auto

Posted on December 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: 115th Street and Hawthorne Boulevard via Google’s Street View. Dec. 29, 1941: A streetcar heading north on Hawthorne Boulevard hits an automobile at 115th Street after the driver, apparently blinded by rain, entered the intersection. “The streetcar struck the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Radio, Streetcars, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on 4 Die as Streetcar Crushes Auto

November 27, 1941: Streetcar Companies Ask Council to End Bus Ban in Downtown L.A.

Posted on November 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

November 27, 1941: The Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railways ask the City Council to repeal a ban against buses operating in downtown Los Angeles. Pacific Electric officials said the ban prevented them from routing the line from Los Angeles … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Streetcars, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Crowds Line Broadway for Armistice Day Parade, Nov. 12, 1941

Posted on November 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

We just don’t get deep thoughts in comics anymore. Nov. 12, 1941: Crowds line Broadway in downtown Los Angeles for the annual Armistice Day parade, which marked the end of what used to be called the Great War or the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, A Kinder, Simpler Time, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

L.A.’s Traffic Nightmare Threatens Downtown’s Future! Oct. 28, 1941

Posted on October 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

Oct. 28, 1941: Lee Shippey writes about Los Angeles’ congested streets (no, traffic is not a new problem – it’s a very old one that we are still trying to solve). Notice that Shippey says streetcars and automobiles do not … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Obituaries, Streetcars, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Pasadena’s ‘Fork in the Road’ Returns

Posted on October 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

Pasadena’s famous “Fork in the Road” has returned!

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Marion Eisenmann: Artist’s Notebook

Posted on October 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

“Coke Beetle” by Marion Eisenmann. Marion Eisenmann sends along a sketch she calls “Coke Beetle,” a Volkswagen painted Coca-Cola red that was at the swap meet in Pomona last weekend. Marion originally sent it to me as a black and … Continue reading →

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Remembering ‘Injun Summer’ – But Not in a Good Way

Posted on October 16, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: Detail of “Injun Summer” (d. 1992), by John T. McCutcheon, once an annual fall tradition of the Chicago Tribune. The old man tells the boy: “Don’t be skeered — hain’t none around here now, leastways no live ones.’” An … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art & Artists, Chicago, Medicine, Museums, Native Americans, Preservation, Transportation | Tagged , | 1 Comment

John Wayne Gacy Victim to Be Exhumed for DNA Tests

Posted on October 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

Dec. 27, 1978: Four more bodies are found under the home of John Wayne Gacy. Adam Nagourney of the New York Times reports on the slow process of bringing a 21-foot granite boulder to the Los Angeles County Museum of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1978, Architecture, Art & Artists, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Museums, Obituaries, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments