Tag Archives: #Traffic

September 19, 1947: L.A. OKs Right Turn on Red Light!

Posted on September 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 19, 1947: A deep dive to Californians’ ability to make a right turn on a red light, taken for granted now, but controversial once upon a time. Continue reading →

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September 11, 1947: Driver of Beer Wagon Gets Revenge on Streetcars

Posted on September 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 11, 1947: Joseph P. Johnston is a career safecracker who gave up his trade during World War II, considering it unpatriotic, but is up to his old ways. And a flashback to 1905, when a beer truck driver gets revenge on L.A.’s sainted streetcars by blocking the tracks. Continue reading →

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

Posted on September 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 5, 1947: As Los Angeles celebrates its birthday, Mayor Fletcher Bowron says it’s now the third-largest city in the U.S., passing Detroit. Continue reading →

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Aug. 10, 1947: North Broadway Tunnel, Doomed Downtown Landmark

Posted on August 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 10, 1947: The North Broadway Tunnel is doomed. Continue reading →

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Southbound 110: Traffic Collision 9/8/2023

Posted on September 8, 2023 by lmharnisch

Public Service Announcement: I saw this accident on the southbound 110 between a Honda and a Toyota, and got footage on my dash cam, but I wasn’t able to stop (it wasn’t safe) so I couldn’t contact the drivers, especially … Continue reading →

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Sept. 19, 1947: L.A. OKs Right Turn on Red Light!

Posted on September 19, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Adopted across the country and lampooned by Woody Allen, Los Angeles’ right turn on a red light was born in obscurity. Although the city used traffic … Continue reading →

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Sept. 11, 1947: Driver of Beer Wagon Gets Revenge on Streetcars

Posted on September 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. “Big Bill,” driver for Maier & Zobelein, blockaded a procession of cars on Spring Street yesterday afternoon because he was insulted and angry. He had driven … Continue reading →

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

Posted on September 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

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 →

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Aug. 10, 1947: North Broadway Tunnel, Doomed Downtown Landmark

Posted on August 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Building contractor Robert Beryle regarded the 762-foot Broadway tunnel, excavated in 1901 through Fort Moore Hill, as his masterpiece. Another crew was building the 1,045-foot 3rd … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood’s ‘Five-Finger Plan’ Aids Traffic in the 1920s-30s

Posted on July 17, 2017 by lmharnisch

  A postcard of the Cahuenga Pass showing the cross erected in 1923 in memory of Christine Witherill Stevenson, one of the prime movers in establishing the Hollywood Bowl. Listed on EBay for $6.50. Throughout the history of Los Angeles, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1923, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles: Why Are L.A. Streets So Narrow?

Posted on February 11, 2016 by lmharnisch

Nov. 14, 1924: This is the second of two articles I have from the Los Angeles Examiner titled “Rediscovering Los Angeles.” Notice that even in 1924 people were complaining about traffic and congested streets. Reporter W.W. Kane notes:

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Antisocial Parking

Posted on October 21, 2014 by lmharnisch

Well-behaved women seldom make history, but they also don’t take two parking spaces.

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L.A. Traffic, 1915 Edition

Posted on October 21, 2013 by lmharnisch

My Los Angeles Times colleague Scott Harrison does wonderful work going through The Times photo archives. Here’s his latest post on a “new”method of directing traffic in which police stopped using whistles. This is Officer F.M. Wilson at Broadway and … Continue reading →

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Downtown Los Angeles: Broadway

Posted on October 18, 2013 by lmharnisch

This postcard, marked 1909, showing Broadway, looking north just below 4th Street, has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $8.95. And for comparison, here’s what it looks like on Google Street View. Let’s take a closer look.

Posted in Broadway, City Hall, Downtown, Found on EBay, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Getting L.A. Traffic Wrong

Posted on July 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

Zocalo repeats the old bromide that “once upon a time” the streets of Los Angeles were empty and getting around was simple. Nothing could be further from the truth. After years of reading old newspapers, I can say with authority … Continue reading →

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LAPD Chief Wants More Police; Terrible Traffic – 1913

Posted on April 3, 2013 by lmharnisch

April 3, 1913: That is author L. Frank Baum and composer Louis F. Gottschalk, the team behind “The Tik-Tok Man of Oz,” which was a blockbuster in Los Angeles. The Times said it “is the reigning sensation of the local … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, Books and Authors, City Hall, LAPD, Stage, Streetcars, Theaters | 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

Woman Jailed for Driving Too Slowly

Posted on October 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

Oct. 7, 1941: You’re probably wondering how fast Blanche Roberts was driving. The story doesn’t say anything more specific than “an exceedingly low rate of speed” on the Calabasas Grade. Apparently no one thought to query the reporter — the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Dodgers, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Woman Jailed for Driving Too Slowly

Spring Street revisited

Posted on August 1, 2008 by lmharnisch

  Moss Photographer, 315 W. Pico St. WE stmore 2301, Los Angeles, Cal. Unfortunately, The Times’ Spring Street photo file has nothing that shows the transition at 1st Street in the critical period of the 1900s to the 1920s. Suddenly, … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, City Hall, Downtown, LAPD, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Spring Street

Posted on July 20, 2008 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Munsey StudiosThe 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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment