Nuestro Pueblo

Posted on July 18, 2008 by lmharnisch
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Above, our artist’s view of Bee Rock and below, Bee Rock courtesy of Google Earth.

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Below, suicide at Bee Rock, April 10, 1944.

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Pasadena Freeway

Posted on July 18, 2008 by lmharnisch
 
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A map from 1912 shows the plans for the Arroyo Seco Parkway. Note the Silver Lake Parkway, which was not built. The Arroyo Seco Parkway was actually proposed even earlier, as part of Charles Mulford Robinson’s "City Beautiful" project of 1906-7. (He also advocated realigning Spring Street and putting City Hall there … and he proposed planting jacarandas along the city’s streets).

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Los Angeles Times file photo

This photograph of the Arroyo Seco Road, dated 1921, shows a pleasant country lane between Pasadena and downtown Los Angeles.
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Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

Construction on the river channel next to the Pasadena Freeway, July 1, 1935.

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Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

Construction is nearly finished, Oct. 17, 1940.
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Los Angeles Times file photo

Rose Queen Sally Stanton, Gov. Culbert Olson and Highway Patrol Chief E. Raymond Cato at the ribbon cutting of the Arroyo Seco Parkway (Pasadena Freeway), Dec. 30, 1940. This is in the general location east of Fair Oaks Avenue in South Pasadena where the sinkhole opened July 16, 2008.
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Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

And in a matter of months (Feb. 4, 1941) after the opening, the southbound Arroyo Seco Parkway (Pasadena Freeway) is backed up at the Figueroa Tunnels. If you ever wondered what a 67-year-old traffic jam looks like, this is your answer.

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Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

Emergency turnouts are added to the Pasadena Freeway in 1950 to ease congestion and prevent accidents.
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Photograph by Gil Cooper / Los Angeles Times

Workers install center dividers on the Pasadena Freeway, June 15, 1961. If you have ever seen the beating that these guardrails take from accidents, you can imagine what it was like when there was nothing but perhaps a little landscaping to keep cars from plunging into oncoming traffic. Email me

Below, the Orange Grove Avenue off-ramp on the southbound Pasadena Freeway via Google maps’ street view.

 
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July 17, 1938

Posted on July 17, 2008 by lmharnisch
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Jack Benny gives a party for his daughter Joan and invites some little friends: Jack Haley Jr., Gary and Dennis Crosby, Dion Fay (son of Barbara Stanwyck and Frank Fay), Melinda Markey (daughter of Joan Bennett and Gene Markey), Al Jolson Jr. and Freddie Astaire Jr. Email me
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July 17, 1908

Posted on July 17, 2008 by lmharnisch
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Don’t get the idea these hats were cheap; wait till you see the actual prices: $219.87 and $186.89, marked down to $86.85 USD 2007.
Below, Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan gets more inches of copy but Republican candidate William Howard Taft gets the bigger headlines. Note: Although Taft was nominated at the GOP convention, he will make his official acceptance speech July 28. Email me
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President visits L.A.

Posted on July 16, 2008 by lmharnisch



 
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Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

President Roosevelt at Broadway and 7th Street, July 16, 1938.
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Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

Protesters along the parade route.

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Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

A crowd greets the president, who arrives in his personal railroad car.

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Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

A detail from the image above.

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Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

President Roosevelt delivers a speech, ignoring Los Angeles Mayor Frank Shaw, left. The president began his address without being introduced by the mayor, The Times said.
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Mystery picture

Posted on July 15, 2008 by lmharnisch
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This one’s a bit different. Who’s the artist?

Update: If you are a faithful Daily Mirror reader, you will recall posts about this artist….

  • Joan Rivers? Interesting guess. Alas, no.
  • Vincent Price? I’m afraid not.
  • Red Skelton? Sorry, no.
  • Henry Major? I’m afraid not.
  • Zsa Zsa Gabor? Alas, no.
  • Phyllis Diller? Interesting guess, but no.
  • Tony Curtis? Interesting, but no.
  • John Wayne Gacy? Ick! NO!!!!
  • Tony Bennett? Sorry, no.
  • Elizabeth Taylor? Alas, no.
  • Al Hirschfeld? Um, probably not.

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Setback for stadium

Posted on July 15, 2008 by lmharnisch

July 15, 1958

By Keith Thursby

Times staff writer

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Los Angeles and the Dodgers lost a round in court in their efforts to build a baseball stadium in Chavez Ravine.

Superior Court Judge Arnold
Praeger ruled that the contract between the city and the Dodgers was
invalid. The deal had been struck when the team moved to Los Angeles,
then voters narrowly approved it in a June 1958 election. Two local
taxpayers then filed lawsuits trying to stop the deal.

The Times’ main story led with
a couple of painful sports metaphors, reporting that Judge Praeger
"struck out the Dodgers’ Chavez Ravine deal," which according to the
paper was "a 32-page doubleheader decision."

The paper was a strong
proponent of the ballpark and there were often clues in stories if you
weren’t sure where the paper stood. Deep in the main story on Praeger’s
ruling was this passage: "As for the voters who decided last June 3
that they were in favor of the Chavez Ravine recreational park–that
doesn’t count!" Interesting how the project was described.

In a story about city
officials’ reactions, Councilman John Holland was referred to as
"perhaps the bitterest foe"  of the stadium plans. The ruling seemed
certain to be appealed, but Holland instead hoped "that plans may be
speedily revived to have the major league baseball stadium constructed
near the Coliseum in or adjacent to Exposition Park."

Dodger owner Walter O’Malley remained confident that the ballpark would be built in Chavez Ravine.

"We came to California in the
first place because we felt it was a fine country and because we wanted
to build a new modern stadium," O’Malley said in a story by The Times’
Al Wolf. "Chavez fits in perfectly with that plan–and we are not
abandoning the program."

keith.thursby@latimes.com

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July 15, 1938

Posted on July 15, 2008 by lmharnisch

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From The Times’ editorial page, July 16, 1938. Note the Bible passage.
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Dropcap_w_1926
e can add this to The Times’ editorials against a federal anti-lynching law (not necessary) and offering refuge to people fleeing Nazi persecution (they would just go on welfare and take jobs away from Americans): What’s all the fuss with a recall election? One thing that’s evident about The Times’ editorial pages in this era is that they were staunchly in favor of the status quo.

Meanwhile, we seem to be in favor of a ballot initiative on working women that I don’t entirely understand. Looks like some digging is in order.
 
At left, petitions are filed seeking to recall Mayor Frank Shaw. He says his opponents are a "disgruntled, discredited, hypocritical handful of politicians, racketeers and misguided zealots…." Los Angeles? Why it’s the "white spot" of the nation!

And we’d be willing to host the 1940 summer Olympics after Tokio was forced to withdraw because of the war between Japan and China. 

Also … Katharine Hepburn and Howard Hughes? Let me say that again: Katharine Hepburn and Howard Hughes?

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Note to Jaded: It’s not such a bargain. Adjusted for inflation, $13.33 is $190.61 USD 2007.


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Nuestro Pueblo

Posted on July 15, 2008 by lmharnisch

 

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Prospect and Myra avenues …  No, I couldn’t make this up. I really couldn’t.


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July 15, 1908

Posted on July 15, 2008 by lmharnisch

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ere’s an update on the story of Joseph H.N. Longy, who was arrested on charges of sending threatening letters to local businessmen. The Times gives an elaborate description of his "oil gun" and a primitive hand grenade that was found in his room.

At left, Frank Leroyxez is badly injured during a Bastille Day celebration when his parachute becomes snarled after he jumps from a gas balloon at Chutes Park. Leroyxez landed on a building at 16th Street and Main (at left, the intersection), and was rescued by firefighters. 

In November, Leroyxez will be part of a balloon race with hopes of setting a distance record.

Also … Chinatown gamblers target police officers for blockading their businesses … Painters are trapped in a stockade being built to house the homeless … Wilmington deals a setback to plans for laying streetcar tracks … And the South Main Street and South Side improvement associations oppose bonds for improved roads.

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El Segundo revisited

Posted on July 14, 2008 by lmharnisch
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Dropcap_n_nash26 orman Frederick Gagnon looks like an excellent suspect in the unsolved killing of two El Segundo police officers last year.

In an incident quite similar to the El Segundo case, Charles H. May and a female companion (The Times, fortunately, did not identify her) were kidnapped as they left a Lawndale restaurant at 2 a.m. on a Saturday. Gagnon drove them to Crystal Lake, where he pistol-whipped May and raped the woman while bragging that he had killed El Segundo Officers Richard Phillips and Milton Curtis. (Today, we know Gerald F. Mason was the killer).

Gagnon was convicted under the Little Lindbergh law and in 1959 was sentenced to prison without the possibility of parole. The Social Security Death Index lists a Norman F. Gagnon, born in 1927, dying March 25, 1997, in Sacramento.

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July 14, 1938

Posted on July 14, 2008 by lmharnisch
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Dropcap_t_kiddo he Times lists 25 prospective candidates to run against Mayor Frank Shaw in a recall election. Leading the list is Judge Fletcher Bowron, the eventual winner. The list also includes Judge Fricke, county Supervisor John Anson Ford, former Mayor Porter and Clifford Clinton.

And… Hazel Drain and Ray Stanford file an assault complaint against fan dancer Sally Rand. They say the entertainer attacked them at a downtown theater because they were photographing her act. She is accused of biting Drain’s arm, scratching Stanford’s neck and ruining their film.

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July 14, 1908

Posted on July 14, 2008 by lmharnisch
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Adjusted for inflation, the $15 refrigerator sold for $329.81 USD 2007, the $26 refrigerator was $571.66 USD 2007.
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Cropcap_r_lincoln abid socialist Joseph H.N. Longy writes threatening letters to Los Angeles businessmen, saying that he’ll burn down their homes unless they send him $5. Of course, if he had been psychic Victor Segno, and promised to send a daily "success wave" for $1, he would have been successful.  Longy, who was released in 1909, above, used the return address of Howell Hall, 814 S. Main St.

Also note the story on early Los Angeles residents asking the City Council to preserve the Protestant cemetery on Fort Hill, which "has become unsightly through neglect," The Times says.

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July 13 1938

Posted on July 13, 2008 by lmharnisch
1938_0713_nuestro

North Main Street, below, via Google maps’ street view. Where would you rather go for a walk, Main Street 1938 or Main Street 2008?
1938_0713_page Dropcap_t_theatrical he upcoming election on whether to recall Mayor Frank Shaw is one of the key moments in Los Angeles history. So where does The Times play the story? Page 8 of the second section. Granted, this is only a prelude (Roy Smith announces that he will file the recall petitions tomorrow),  but one still has to wonder about the editors’ news judgment.

And although the filing of recall petitions will land on Page 1, it’s not the lead story. That will be Howard Hughes’ record flight around the world: 3 days, 19 hours, 14 minutes, 10 seconds.

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July 13, 1908

Posted on July 13, 2008 by lmharnisch

1908_0713_immigration

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Olympics in L.A.?

Posted on July 12, 2008 by lmharnisch

July 12, 1958

1958_0712_sportsBy Keith Thursby
Times staff writer

Los Angeles officially threw its hat into the Olympic rings for the 1964 Summer Games.

Mayor Norris Poulson announced the bid after a meeting with the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games.

"We in Southern California, Los Angeles in particular, already have unparalleled facilities for the successful staging of the Games," Poulson said in Braven Dyer’s story in The Times. The 1932 Olympics had been a success in Los Angeles.

Money was already an issue in picking future Olympic cities.

Dyer wrote that "many European countries claim, after having made the long trip to Australia for the 1956 Olympics, that they will seek to keep the big international program in Europe for years to come, travel expenses being so heavy for many nations which lack the financial standing of the United States."

Unlike many of the paper’s stories leading up to the Dodgers’ move, Dyer’s piece kept the Olympic bid in perspective. He pointed out that Tokyo was expected to make a bid in 1964 since the city was awarded the 1940 Games, a competition that didn’t take place.

Tokyo was named the host city in 1964, with Detroit finishing a distant second in the International Olympic Committee voting. Detroit was viewed as a better Olympic city than Los Angeles? California did get another Olympics in 1960, with the Winter Games coming to Squaw Valley.

L.A. had to wait until 1984. Detroit is still waiting.

keith.thursby@latimes.com
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July 12, 1938

Posted on July 12, 2008 by lmharnisch

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Mystery photo revealed!

Posted on July 12, 2008 by lmharnisch

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Yes, it is Rod Cameron and Adrian Booth in "Brimstone," correctly guessed by Michael Ryerson, Michael Goosman, John Jarnagin, Gary Hertzberg and Howard Decker. 

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More important, note the Colt Single Action Army Frontier he’s carrying. At least that’s my best guess. 

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Above, our mystery guest, identified by Don Danard as: Adrian Booth, Lorna Gray and Virginia Pound (I would have accepted any of these names).

But of course, the Daily
Mirror isn’t done. Now the mystery guest is the fellow on the right.

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And just because I’m in a good mood, here’s another photo. Keith Thursby asked if this was taken at the Golden Horseshoe at Disneyland. Alas, no. (This is on the set of "The Black Hills," Sept. 10, 1950).

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Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

Speaking of fur coats, who’s the lady wearing this one? (She was photographed in March 1945 after being arrested on drug charges. She was later exonerated, see below). 

P.S.: Dig that great metal plate around the doorknob.

Hint: This actress has more than 50 credits on imdb and to the best of my knowledge is still alive.

Big hint: Our mystery guest appeared in a film with two of the actresses listed below (Lorna Gray, Ida Lupino and Rita Hayworth appeared in "The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt.")

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2008_0709_mystery_pix02 Another vintage shot of our mystery guest, sans fur coat. (This is cropped from a still photo of "The Return of Captain America").

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Another photo of our mystery guest. ("The Man They Could Not Hang," 1939)

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Here she is in another fur. (Photograph by Roman Freulich, Republic Studios, Oct. 20, 1954).

  • Virginia Hill? Sorry, no.
  • Nora Eddington? Interesting guess, but no. This woman has more than 50 imdb credits and is still alive as far as I know.
  • Jean Arthur? Interesting guess. But I’m afraid not. This lady is still alive as far as I know. Jean Arthur died in 1991.
  • Lucille Ball? I’m sorry, this lady is still alive as far as I know. Ball died in 1989.
  • Jane Randolph? A very good guess. Our lady has way more credits on imdb, though.
  • Pamela Blake (with Alan Ladd or Elisha Cook Jr.)? Interesting guesses for sure. But no. 
  • Phyllis Coates? Interesting guess, but Coates has far more credits on imdb.
  • Marsha Hunt? Another interesting guess, but Hunt has far more credits on imdb.
  • Gene Tierney? (two people). Alas, this lady is still alive as far as I know. Tierney died in 1991.
  • Joan Bennett? I’m afraid not. This lady is still alive and Bennett died in 1990.
  • Ann Sheridan? Alas, no. This lady is still alive and Sheridan died in 1967.
  • Ava Gardner? Alas no. This lady is still alive and Gardner died in 1990.
  • Simone Simon? Alas no. This lady is still alive and Simon died in 2005.
  • Ava Gardner? I’m afraid not. This lady is still alive and Gardner died in 1990.
  • Rosalind Russell? I’m afraid not. This lady is alive and Russell died in 1976.

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Architectural rambling

Posted on July 12, 2008 by lmharnisch
1908_0712_hawes

1907_rubidoux Dropcap_i_eastside t’s difficult to be certain, but I believe the house shown in Google maps’ street view is the one designed by Clara Content Alden. Fortunately, Riverside County has posted its historic maps online, so I was able to find the River Crest Tract. It took a bit of detective work to locate the homes, however, because all the streets have been renamed. I try to note women’s history whenever I get a chance and hoped to write about Alden, but there is nothing to be found of her in The Times. I can only recall one other woman in this period whom we wrote about as an aspiring architect, Penelope Murdoch. Nor is there much in The Times about Harry Hawes, although I learned about a man by that name who was the attorney for Mrs. Adolphus Busch and was a senator from Missouri.

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Topanga Canyon blaze

Posted on July 11, 2008 by lmharnisch
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Dropcap_a_packard spark from an electrical short in the pump house at Hertz Ranch was blamed for a fire that burned 125 acres before it was contained, The Times says.

Six other fires were also burning in Southern California, The Times says. In one of the most dramatic moments, a helicopter dropped firefighters on Mt. San Gorgonio ahead of the advancing flames in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Hertz Ranch was owned by John D. Hertz, the founder of Hertz Rent-a-Car and owner of Yellow Cab Co., who died in 1961. Hertz built an elaborate fallout shelter on the Shoup Avenue site before selling it in 1959 for the Pinecrest School.

Bonus fact: Harry James once boarded his horses there, but I can’t find any information about it being a movie ranch.

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