| Larry Harnisch Reflects on L.A. History

Spring Street revisited

Posted on July 29, 2008 by lmharnisch

C.C. Pierce & Co. Photographers, Los Angeles, Cal. U.S.A.

This picture was taken from Spring and 2nd streets about 1895, and shows the reverse angle of Spring and 1st, which we looked at yesterday.

One of the most prominent buildings in this photo is the courthouse, which was at Fort (later renamed Broadway) and Temple.

Above, the courthouse, which was torn down in 1935 after being badly damaged in the Long Beach earthquake, a phenomenon I call "seismic Darwinism." (Thanks to Brady Westwater, I now know that the 1888 cornerstone is outside the Criminal Courts Building). By the way, the two brass cannons that used to be at the courthouse, originally from Ft. Moore, were to be installed in a park in Montebello to commemorate the Battle of Paso de Bartolo, according to a 1941 Times story.

The Nadeau Hotel, now the site of The Times Building, at 1st Street and Spring. The Nadeau was built in 1882 by Remi Nadeau and demolished in 1932. Note that the gingerbread decoration at the top is false front and disappears in later photos.

We also have a better view of the Phillips Block, 1886-1913. A Times article reviewing major Los Angeles buildings for 1886 attributed the Phillips Block to architect R.J. Reeve. The Times gives the dimensions as 120 feet on Spring Street, 131 feet, 6 inches on Franklin Street and a height of 120 feet at the main center of the building. Construction materials were brick, granite and iron, and the cost was $125,000 ($2,850,281.51 USD 2007). Stay tuned for more on the Phillips Block.

And finally, we get a good view of the crazy angle in Spring Street. Today, of course, Spring has been realigned so that it’s straight, and it’s been widened.

And why was there a kink in Spring Street? The answer is complicated. At one time, Spring (originally Primavera when Los Angeles’ streets had Spanish names) went in a straight line from the early plaza. Instead of taking a bend at 1st Street as it went south, Spring originally angled through the site of the Nadeau Hotel, the corner of what is now Broadway and 3rd Street, Hill and 4th Street, and Olive and 5th Street.

Below, thumbnail histories of Los Angeles’ streets from 1896, including an explanation of why they were 28 feet wide. Warning: This story describes a bullfight in Los Angeles and refers to Calle de los Negros, later known as "N-word Alley." Email me

Posted in #courts, Architecture, Downtown, Freeways, Transportation | Tagged #courts, #Hotels, #Spring Street, Architecture, downtown, Los Angeles, transportation | Comments Off

Spring Street revisited

Posted on July 28, 2008 by lmharnisch

C. C. Pierce Photographer, 1572 W. Pico, Los Angeles

This photograph of Spring Street, looking south from Temple, is slightly later than the one in the previous entry and was taken about 1896.

Notice that our single-track, horse-drawn streetcars have vanished. Instead, we have parallel tracks for cars powered by–what's this? A cable! Also notice that Spring has been paved with bricks.

According to The Times, the City Council granted a franchise to the Los Angeles Cable Railway Co. in 1887. The route began at Spring 200 feet south of 1st, went along Spring to Main, Upper Main Street, Alameda and San Fernando streets, and Downey Avenue to the intersection with Workman. The fare was not to exceed 5 cents per passenger ($1.14 USD 2007).

At left, an 1889 accident involving a buggy that was caught in the tracks for the cable car. Notice that the team of horses ran away and one of them broke a window before being caught.

Another detail from the photo shows the Nadeau Hotel at 1st and Spring (now the site of The Times Building). To the left is Jevne's grocery store. Also notice the tower at the center of the picture.

The tower visible in the center of the picture is City Hall, then located on Broadway. The building was demolished for a parking lot, but the annex remains as the Victor Clothing building.

I think this pedestal clock is a wonderful detail from a 19th century streetscape. London Clothing Co. later became Harris & Frank.

The unhappy fate of photographer Lemuel S. Ellis, who worked for C.C. Pierce and died in 1902.

This imposing building is the Phillips Block and the location has an interesting history. Los Angeles' first City Hall was located here in what was known as the Rocha House, an adobe on Spring between Temple and 1st on an unnamed street.

In 1853, Juan Temple sold the house and lot to Los Angeles County, which in turn sold a share of the building to the city, according to a 1930 Times story. Because a building on the property was used as a jail, the unnamed street became known as Jail Street and, after neighbors' protests, was renamed Franklin Street in 1872.

According to the 1930 Times story, criminals were hanged from the portico of the Rocha House, including a murderer and his two companions on Nov. 21, 1863.

In 1883, the city sold the Rocha House to Louis Phillips and used the money to build another City Hall at Spring and 2nd. Phillips demolished the Rocha adobe to make way for his five-story Phillips Block. The building, which housed the People's Store, was destroyed by a spectacular fire in 1912 and torn down in 1913, according to The Times.

And finally, we find a young boy being led, presumably by his father. Are they headed for London Clothing to get a new outfit? We can only wonder.

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Posted in 1872, 1887, 1889, Architecture, City Hall, Downtown, Freeways, Transportation | Tagged #Spring Street, 1896, City Hall, Temple | 2 Comments

Spring Street revisited

Posted on July 27, 2008 by lmharnisch

Los Angeles Times file photo

When this photo was taken, about 1883, Spring Street took an oblique angle at 1st. We're looking north, possibly from the Nadeau Hotel at what is now the site of The Times Building. The curious angle is somewhat visible in the building on the left, labeled the Schumacher Block.

One of the most prominent details in this photo is the horse-drawn streetcar. Notice that there's only one track. How did the cars get around one another?

Here's how: There was a little "pullout" in the tracks so that one car could get by the other. Notice that the street is unpaved. Also note that we have a vehicle not staying to the right.

Although there's no street lighting, we have utility poles with overhead wiring. Notice the filigree on the large cable at the top of the image.

More to the point, we find a chaotic jam of wagons outside the dry goods store. Notice that some vehicles are blocking others. I should also point out that the early editions of The Times are full of harrowing stories about runaway horses injuring themselves and their passengers.

And, of course, with horses as the main mode of transportation, there will be horse flop. The Times once noted that unpaved streets were actually preferable in some ways because manure mixed with the dirt and "disappeared" while it accumulated and became an annoyance on paved streets. Email me

Posted in 1883, Architecture, Downtown, Freeways, Transportation | Tagged #Spring Street, 1883, downtown, Freeways, horses, planning, transportation | 3 Comments

Headline News

Posted on July 26, 2008 by lmharnisch

July 26, 1948

By Keith Thursby
Times staff writer

uiz time: What does this headline mean?

It’s pretty clear we’re talking about baseball, but who are the Twinks and the Suds?

The Twinks were a familiar headline name in The Times for the Hollywood Stars. I never understood the need for the nickname’s nickname. You really need another way to say Stars?

The Suds referred to the Seattle Rainiers, named after a local brewery.
The story was a run of the mill wire report on the doubleheader but there’s one line that really stopped me. The Seattle pitcher is referred to as a "wrong hander."

As a lifelong left-hander, I’ve been called a southpaw, a port sider and even a goofy footer, but a wrong hander?

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the pitcher was right-handed.

keith.thursby@latimes.com

Posted in Sports | Tagged 1948, Baseball, Hollywood Stars, Seattle Rainiers | 2 Comments

July 26, 1938

Posted on July 26, 2008 by lmharnisch

aul "the Porpoise" Chotteau collapses within 10 miles of his goal of swimming from Santa Barbara to Venice … A bomb in Haifa kills 50 people, wounds 58 others and touches off rioting … Kentucky Gov. A.B. "Happy" Chandler is recovering after being poisoned … And the city clerk’s office certifies petitions to recall Mayor Frank Shaw. The election is set for Sept. 16, The Times says. Candidates seeking to run against the mayor must qualify by Aug. 22.

ps. The last we heard of Chotteau, in 1960, he was living in Key West, Fla. He had invented a pontoon boat to be towed by an unsuspecting shark that he would capture and harness. "Sharks make wonderful motors," he said, "Of course, sometimes they decide to go straight down." Hm. Sounds like a plot for "Jabberjaw."

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Posted in #courts, @news, City Hall, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, LAPD, Politics, Religion | Tagged 1938, bombings, City Hall, Elections, Holy Land, Mayor Shaw, Mideast, recalls, reform, terrorism | Comments Off

July 26, 1908

Posted on July 26, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, developer Samuel A. Selover buys a home at Bonnie Brae and Miramar streets. Selover, whose projects included Belmont Shore in Long Beach, died in 1939. Below, Bonnie Brae and Miramar via Google maps’ street view. Email me

Posted in Architecture, Real Estate | Tagged 1908, Architecture, Belmont Shore, Long Beach, Samuel A. Selover | Comments Off

Nuestro Pueblo

Posted on July 25, 2008 by lmharnisch

Posted in Nuestro Pueblo | 2 Comments

‘Discovering’ Chavez Ravine

Posted on July 25, 2008 by lmharnisch

By Keith Thursby
Times staff writer

The Times published a tidbit about the Hollywood Stars and their owner, Bob Cobb, that made me go looking deeper for more details.

Jeane Hoffman reported that Cobb "discovered" Chavez Ravine as a potential home for a baseball team and in 1954 proposed building a stadium and leasing it back to the city for $1 a year. Hoffman said the plan didn’t work because it was for minor league baseball and Cobb was just a little ahead of his time.

The Dodgers’ plans to build a stadium were still on hold at this point in 1958 after a Superior Court judge ruled the contract between the team and the city was invalid. But what of Cobbs’ idea?

I found a Times story from Dec. 17, 1954, in which Yankees manager Casey Stengel, longtime baseball owner Bill Veeck and Cobb talked to a City Council committee about bringing big league baseball to Los Angeles. According to Paul Zimmerman’s story, the discussion focused on whether the city should expand Wrigley Field or build a ballpark in Chavez Ravine.

"No city in the United States can offer what Los Angeles does," Cobb said. "We need something new, something modern and a place to park 25,000 cars."

Cobb and his Hollywood Stars have long fascinated me. My mom grew up in Los Angeles and her family’s baseball allegiances were split down the middle between fans of the Stars and the Angels. Photos of Gilmore Field made the experience look glamorous and any search of Pacific Coast League games can find tales of wild fights and long doubleheaders. And Cobb was no ordinary owner, with his connection to the Brown Derby–and what other baseball owner had a salad named after him?

After the Dodgers decided to move to Los Angeles–moving the minor league Stars and Angels out of the Southland–Cobb remained civic minded. In searching the website walteromalley.com for any connections between the two owners, I stumbled on a 1957 Times story where Cobb came to O’Malley’s defense.

"I’m shocked at the unbelievable position in which Walter O’Malley finds himself," Cobb told The Times’ Hoffman. "We invited this man to Los Angeles. He didn’t solicit us."

Hoffman said Cobb’s plan for Chavez Ravine was ahead of his time. The 1957 story had another example. "But you can’t stop progress," he said. "We’re going to have not one but two major league clubs here within five years. Where? Well, this second club will settle in Orange County, probably Anaheim. That’s where the Hollywood Stars were going if the majors hadn’t come."

Too bad it didn’t work out. I can seem them now–the Hollywood Stars of Anaheim. Wonder how much they’d charge for a Cobb salad?

keith.thursby@latimes.com

Posted in City Hall, Dodgers, Downtown, Politics, Sports | Tagged #Chavez Ravine, 1958, Baseball, Dodgers, Walter O'Malley | 1 Comment

July 25, 1938

Posted on July 25, 2008 by lmharnisch

oe Shaw resigns as personal secretary to his brother, Mayor Frank Shaw, and elopes to Reno with Buelah M. Fuller of the mayor’s secretarial staff. Curiously enough, Joe Shaw is identified as a lieutenant, which I haven’t encountered before. Perhaps it refers to his former rank in the Navy.

"I have never fully agreed with your expressed desire that I remain an attache of your office during the recent period when heaven and earth have been moved by political malcontents and enemies to find fault with you because of my presence on your staff," Joe Shaw wrote.

"For me to ask to be relieved of service under these conditions has been repugnant to both of us alike, for, whatever the personal desires might be in the premises, they would be distorted and misunderstood by political critics sadly lacking in their makeups any sense of American fair play.

"In spite of their slander, you have continued to repose confidence in me and I cannot adequately put in words what this loyalty has meant to me, especially because of our relationship and in the light of my unblemished record in the United States Navy for 25 years prior to becoming your secretary….

"It seems a curious commentary upon human nature that a small group of gossips would assume that they could convince any considerable proportion of the people of Los Angeles that a man trained as I had been for 25 years in the code of an officer of the United States Navy could be capable of the actions that have been charged against me by innuendo.

"I now resume my status as a private citizen. As a private citizen I shall be at liberty to answer the slander that has been directed toward me."

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Posted in @news, City Hall, Front Pages, LAPD, Politics | Tagged 1938, Earle Kynette, Frank Shaw, Harry Raymond bombing, Joe Shaw | Comments Off

Woman, boy strangled

Posted on July 24, 2008 by lmharnisch

Posted in Homicide, LAPD | Tagged 1958, homicide, lapd, strangulation | 1 Comment

Blind Tom dies

Posted on July 24, 2008 by lmharnisch

he Daily Mirror overlooked the death of "Blind Tom" Wiggins, reported June 28, 1908. Blind Tom played the piano, but he was more than a pianist. He wrote music, but he was far more than a composer. Blind Tom was a sensation and a curiosity, a force of nature. I’m not even sure what term we would use for him today; perhaps "childlike genius" would be the most appropriate.

Whatever Blind Tom was, the piano was his connection to the world. According to accounts from the period, he could use the piano to reproduce any imaginable sound. He was apparently capable of mimicking performances of other pianists and seemingly never forgot anything — at least about music.

And as you might expect, living in the 19th century, being African American and developmentally disabled, Blind Tom did not have an easy life.

Blind Tom performed in Los Angeles and Santa Ana several times and drew large crowds, according to The Times. Above left, a program from one of his concerts.

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Warning: The "N-word" appears several times in his obituary, below.

Posted in art and artists, Blues, classical music, Music | Tagged 1908, Blind Tom, Music, musicians, pianists, pianos | Comments Off

Woman disappears

Posted on July 23, 2008 by lmharnisch

3714 W. Pico, via Google maps.

July 23, 1958

uth lived in a room at the Shari Hotel, 3714 W. Pico, that she shared with a little dog and a couple of parakeets. The landlord realized she hadn’t been around for a few days, and when he checked on her, he found her pets were nearly dead.

But nothing was written about her until October, when he was finally caught. The Times said investigators searching her belongings learned that she had been a “wartime member of the WAF” and was originally from Plattsburgh, N.Y.* Apparently she worked as a stripper and a model, using the name Angela Rojas. The most important thing about Ruth was that unlike the other victims, she could disappear and no one would notice.

The only person The Times interviewed about her was someone who took her newspaper ads: “She was a seemingly clean-cut, nice kid who was anything but the kind of person you’d expect in that kind of business. She was reliable, the sort who always paid her bills on time.”

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* The Times gave Ruth’s age as 24 and California death records say she was born Dec. 19, 1933. If she had served in World War II she would have been much older. Possibly she served during the Korean War.

Posted in Homicide | Tagged 1958, Harvey Glatman, homicide | 1 Comment

Nuestro Pueblo

Posted on July 22, 2008 by lmharnisch

ow this was truly a happy discovery: Someone turned two streetcars into a house. Alas, it’s not there anymore. I would love to know the story behind the home, I’m sure it’s an interesting one.

At left, an update on the campaign to recall Mayor Frank Shaw and federal charges are filed against Peter Pianezzi in the Les Bruneman killing.

Oh, and those $12 dresses at the Broadway? $171.59 USD 2007.

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Posted in Architecture, Nuestro Pueblo, Real Estate, Transportation | Tagged 1938, housing, Nuestro Pueblo, Streetcars, transportation | Comments Off

And commuting was born

Posted on July 22, 2008 by lmharnisch

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Except this was published in The Times on July 1, 1901. Today, we shake our heads when we read about someone who works in Santa Monica or downtown Los Angeles and lives in the Inland Empire or the Antelope Valley or in South Orange County. But it’s no different than what people were doing more than a century ago. And we can’t blame the automobile in this era. It’s the streetcar system that allows people to live far from where they work.

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Posted in Architecture, Freeways, Real Estate, Transportation | Tagged 1901, housing, real estate, Streetcars, transportation | 3 Comments

Spring Street revisited

Posted on July 22, 2008 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Munsey Studios, winter 1900

Here’s another detail from the photo I wrote about yesterday. These people are on the sidewalk just to the left of the fellow sitting in the wagon.

Here’s a closer look at the people on the sidewalk. It’s easy to make out the man’s watch chain. The young boy seems to have something pinned to his shirt and the woman appears to be looking directly at the photographer.

What caught my eye were the signs, "Furnished Rooms," "Cut-Rate Cigar" and my favorite: "Platform Psychic, Independent [Illegible] and Trumpet Medium." I’m going to have to research trumpet mediums and see what they were. Hm. A Times editorial from April 18, 1902, refers to an "independent typewriter and trumpet medium." I wonder if it’s something like "independent writer." The Times editorial writers don’t seem to think much of the paranormal.

Posted in Downtown | Tagged #Spring Street, 1900, mediums, psychics, seances | 4 Comments

Mystery photo

Posted on July 22, 2008 by lmharnisch

Los Angeles Times file photo

Well, who is she?

Joan Davis? Alas, no.

Tempest Storm? I’m afraid not.

Lucille Ball? Sorry, no.

Hedy Lamarr? Alas, no.

Susan Hayward? I’m afraid not.

Paulette Goddard? Alas, no.

Martha Vickers? I"m afraid not.

Florence Rice or Madge Evans? Sorry, no.

Bette Davis? Sorry, no.

She is sort of a Lilli Palmer type. (Alexa Foreman). Yes, this is the former Mrs. Rex Harrison (one of them, anyway) in a 1937 photo. Congratulations!

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Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

July 21, 1958

Posted on July 21, 2008 by lmharnisch

ather than even make an attempt to explain what’s going on in the Mideast in this period, I’ll defer to Robert G. Neumann, below. I can only echo what Hanson W. Baldwin said Feb. 21, 1958, when he referred to the "military and political quicksand of the Middle East."

Here’s a quote from Neumann’s piece:

"… but all the other Arab countries, with the qualified exception of Lebanon, live under dictatorships, certainly Egypt above all others. Nor is democracy a meaningful concept among the Arabs."

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Posted in @news, Front Pages, Politics | Tagged #Iraq, 1958, Egypt, Jordan, Mideast, Syria | Comments Off

Spring Street revisited

Posted on July 21, 2008 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Munsey Studios, winter 1900

found another image of the Ramona Hotel on Spring Street from about the same era as the earlier picture. Unfortunately, I scanned it at such great resolution that my computer can’t handle the whole thing so I have to crop it down to smaller pieces. Here’s a lovely detail from the overall shot showing a wagon and a streetcar. And I’ve solved a mystery! The utility poles support the overhead cables for the streetcars. (In later times, the cables were attached to large metal rings in buildings. The streetcars may be gone, but the rings are still visible in many older buildings, including The Times). And I’m so happy to have found the little child sitting on the lap of the man driving the wagon. No car seats in the good old days.

And here’s a photo especially for the Daily Mirror readers who like the streetcars. Isn’t this a wonderful photograph? Notice the utility pole for the streetcar cable. You can even make out the motorman and a man riding backward to the left. All aboard for Pico Heights! And I just know that someone is going to send me the history of LARY Car 111. Email me

Posted in Downtown, Transportation | Tagged #Spring Street, 1900, photography, Streetcars, transportation, wagons | 1 Comment

Nuestro Pueblo

Posted on July 20, 2008 by lmharnisch

The 400 block of Jackson Street no longer exists. It’s in the middle of this complex, as shown on Google Earth:

I found something really wonderful in researching the temple: A 1950 Sanborn map with an overlay of Little Tokyo from 1940. It’s from Pease Press.

Posted in Downtown, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged 1938, downtown, Little Tokyo, Nuestro Pueblo | Comments Off

Spring Street

Posted on July 20, 2008 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Munsey Studios

The Hotel Ramona was on the southwest corner of Spring and 3rd streets (305 1/2 S. Spring) on the Ramona Block. It apparently went out of business in 1912, when its furnishings were auctioned off. By 1917 it was replaced by a Beacon shoe store.

ne thing I enjoy about going through the old photos is that I never know what I’m going to find. Here’s a historic picture of South Spring Street. I am assuming that it’s a contact print from a glass negative because there is incredible detail that’s only visible in a large scan.

For example, there’s the family at left, on the sidewalk just about to walk out of the frame. And there’s a fellow leaning against a carriage waiting for something or someone. Notice the sharp shadows, indicating that the photo was taken in the afternoon.

Adding to the clutter of the street are some large crates or boxes left by the curb. Notice that the back of the buggy advertises Standard Sewing Machines.

Here’s a detail of the photo. Note that Spring takes an oblique angle at 1st Street. Obviously it hadn’t been realigned yet. We can also see that the sidewalks are crowded and traffic is a little more chaotic than we might expect from the overall picture.

Fortunately, almost every building has signage, so we can make out Campbell’s Curio Store and Eaton Music Company, narrowing the date of the photo to about 1900. We also find signs for Mrs. Keiffer Employment, Reynolds Photo, Dr. Seaton the Chiropodist, and "Tub Baths and Massage."

Speaking of traffic, notice that we have electric streetcars (the last horse-drawn streetcars didn’t disappear from the city until about 1903).

But in addition to the streetcars, we have wagons, buggies, coaches and bicycles. Suddenly Spring Street is starting to seem a bit busy.

Below left, a bicyclist and another bike leaned against the curb. In fact, there are several bicycles that have been left against the curb on both sides of the street. In this era, businesses made heavy use of bike messengers and they were often described as young hoodlums.

And we have pedestrians, crossing in the middle of the street, presumably after the northbound streetcar has passed. One thing that’s missing is crosswalks. Notice the ghost of one shadowy bicyclist who was apparently in motion when the picture was taken. I would guess that our photographer used a fairly slow shutter speed, a tight aperture with the focus set for infinity.

There’s no such thing as underground cables at this time, so we have utility poles strung with electrical wires.

What else is missing besides crosswalks? How about streetlights? I don’t see any lighting except for this curious object outside what appears to be the Orpheum Theater at 235 S. Spring.

Here’s what else is missing: Automobiles. "The day when the horse is to be a thing of the past on our streets is not yet in sight," The Times said on Feb. 5, 1900.

"The advance of the automobile, while not very rapid in this country, will be sure, but before it can come into general use the price will have to come down considerably, as at present these horseless carriages are practically out of the reach of people of moderate means."

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Posted in Downtown, Transportation | Tagged #Spring Street, #Traffic, 1900, bicycles, Los Angeles, pedestrians, Streetcars | 1 Comment

Spring Street revisited

Spring Street revisited

Spring Street revisited

Headline News

July 26, 1938

July 26, 1908

Nuestro Pueblo

‘Discovering’ Chavez Ravine

July 25, 1938

Woman, boy strangled

Blind Tom dies

Woman disappears

Nuestro Pueblo

And commuting was born

Spring Street revisited

Mystery photo

July 21, 1958

Spring Street revisited

Nuestro Pueblo

Spring Street

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