Tag Archives: City Hall

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

This week’s mystery movie was the 1931 Warner Bros. picture “Other Men’s Women,” with Grant Withers, Mary Astor, Regis Toomey, James Cagney, Fred Kohler, J. Farrell MacDonald, Joan Blondell, Lillian Worth and Walter Long. By Maude Fulton, dialogue by William … Continue reading

Posted in 1931, City Hall, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 46 Comments

‘The Lid Off Los Angeles’ – Liberty Magazine Examines Corruption in the LAPD and at City Hall

On Nov. 11, 1939, Liberty magazine began a six-part series by Dwight F. McKinney and Fred Allhoff on the Harry Raymond bombing and the reform movement of Clifford E. Clinton. Liberty also published a response by Dist. Atty. Buron Fitts. … Continue reading

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Downtown Los Angeles, 1950: ‘The Underworld Story’ Part 3

Here’s another sequence from “The Underworld Story” filmed in downtown Los Angeles. The camera is across Spring Street, opposite City Hall. Downtown L.A. in ‘Underworld Story’ Part 1 | Part 2

Posted in Architecture, City Hall, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Location Sleuth | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dec. 19, 1947: Going Down – City Hall Bans Clever Nicknames for Its Floors

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. City Hall’s elevator operators have been having a little too much fun on the job. Instead of calling out the numbers of the floors, they have … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, City Hall, Comics, LAPD | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

1920: Police Raid Party at Ex-Mayor’s Home, Arrest 7 Men in Drag

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Dec. 10,1907 Los Angeles Mayor Arthur C. Harper happens to be in all sorts of trouble. He’s telling the newspapers that he has had enough of politics and won’t seek another term. … Continue reading

Posted in 1907, 1909, 1912, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Downtown, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Oct. 28, 1907: Former LAPD Chief Calls It ‘Most Detestable Job Ever Created’

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Oct. 28, 1907 Los Angeles You know the song even if you’ve never seen “Pirates of Penzance”: A policeman’s lot is not a happy one” and that is doubly true for one … Continue reading

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Oct. 12, 1907: Contractor Leaves Dead Dogs in Street to Break Contract; A Foul Wind From Fertilizer Plant Blows Over Boyle Heights

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Oct. 12, 1907 Los Angeles After repeated complaints to police because half a dozen dead dogs had laid in the streets for two weeks, the health department tried to charge C.T. Hanson, … Continue reading

Posted in 1907, City Hall, Environment | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Sept. 5, 1947: L.A. Turns 166, Becomes Third-Largest City in America

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Los Angeles mounted a festive reenactment of its founding, with people taking the roles of padres, soldiers and settlers. On the gaily decorated steps of City … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, City Hall, Environment, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

July 28, 1907: L.A. Seeks to Clear Books of Old Laws on Bear Baiting, Quail Hunting by Streetcar Conductors

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 28, 1907 Los Angeles City officials, hampered by a bramble bush of old and unenforced laws, have appointed deputy prosecutor Eddie to prune back outdated and unnecessary regulations from the early … Continue reading

Posted in 1907, Animals, City Hall, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

July 16, 1907: New Restrictions on Boxing

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 16, 1907 Los Angeles Under continued lobbying from the Church Federation, the city attorney is preparing new restrictions on prizefighting that local promoters say will kill the sport. “The new ordinance … Continue reading

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June 7, 1947: Kenneth Hahn Sworn in as L.A. Councilman

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Hahn retired from public service in 1992, after being elected 10 times to the county Board of Supervisors, beginning in 1952. Source: Los Angeles Times, June … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, City Hall, Politics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

June 1, 1907: Former L.A. Councilman Charged With Running Bordello

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 1, 1907 Los Angeles Voir dire, in which lawyers question prospective jurors, is a rough and tumble affair, especially when the case involves prostitution. The matter at hand involves Tom Savage, … Continue reading

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Black L.A. 1947: Bert McDonald Dies; First Black Deputy City Atty.

The latest records by Jimmy Rushing, Duke Henderson and King Perry are at 1065 N. Fairfax Ave. 1065 N. Fairfax Ave., where you got the latest hip 78s in 1947, via Google Street View. March 13, 1947: The Sentinel publishes … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, African Americans, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Music, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Black L.A. 1947: LAPD Detectives Cleared of Brutality Against Drunk Woman

Jan. 9, 1947: The Sentinel reports on the ruling by the Los Angeles Police Commission in the case of Edythe L. Galloway, 434 E. 48th St. On Nov. 6, 1946, the Police Commission voted to investigate the allegations of brutality … Continue reading

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Olympics: Scenes From the 1932 Los Angeles Games

Several years ago, I bought a group of German images showing the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics and the 2016 Rio Games seemed like a good time to share them.

Posted in 1932, City Hall, Photography, Sports | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Fire Up the Lindbergh Beacon!

It’s December, which means it is time to fire up the Lindbergh beacon atop City Hall. Here it is, illuminating the skies over Los Angeles in 2014. Update: I wrote this post a week ago and put it on the … Continue reading

Posted in 2014, City Hall, Downtown | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Lindbergh Beacon Shines Over Downtown Los Angeles

We were pleased to see the Lindbergh beacon fired up on City Hall last night. We were so taken with the moment that we made our first Periscope broadcast with it. Here’s the link to watch it on your desktop.

Posted in 2015, City Hall | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Black Dahlia: Going Digital

  I am slowly digitizing all the interviews I have conducted into Los Angeles in the 1940s and it’s so nice to hear them again. This week, I did Fred Okrand (d. 2002) of the ACLU; Betty Rowland, the 1940s … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, City Hall, History | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

  This week’s mystery movie has been the 1934 RKO picture “Bachelor Bait,” with Stu Erwin (Friday’s mystery guest), Rochelle Hudson (Wednesday’s mystery guest), Pert Kelton (Thursday’s mystery guest), Skeets Gallager (Friday’s mystery guest) and Burton Churchill (not shown). It … Continue reading

Posted in City Hall, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 40 Comments

Mayor Garcetti Fires Up the Lindbergh Beacon

And yes, here is the Lindberg beacon atop City Hall, illuminating the skies over Los Angeles for Christmas Eve 2014.

Posted in 2014, City Hall, Downtown | Tagged , , | 2 Comments