Tag Archives: transportation

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:

Posted in 1924, Downtown, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

L.A.’s Transportation Past Found in Broadway Excavation

Posted on October 5, 2015 by lmharnisch

  This work site at Broadway and 2nd Street is fenced off, but a gate was left open Friday long enough for me to snap a picture. The ongoing excavation  for the Metro station has revealed railroad ties apparently set … Continue reading →

Posted in Broadway, Downtown, Transportation | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Union Station Opens in Los Angeles, May 1939

Posted on May 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

June 29, 1938: Nuestro Pueblo, by artist Charles Owens and writer Joe Seewerker,  depicts the construction of Union Station. Here are some posts that I wrote years ago, including several when Union Station turned 70. — Grand Design for Los … Continue reading →

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1947 World Inventors Exposition at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium

Posted on October 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

An EBay vendor has listed a program from the 1947 World Inventors Exposition. According to ads in The Times, this is where the Tucker automobile had its “premiere public showing.”   Bidding on the program starts at $19.95. I wrote a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Art & Artists, Aviation, Futurism, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on 1947 World Inventors Exposition at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium

March 4, 1907: L.A. Streetcars — Another Look

Posted on September 20, 2013 by lmharnisch

March 4, 1907: Los Angeles’ sainted streetcar system has a bad day. Beacon and 6th streets, minus the streetcars, via Google Street View. One of the most deeply held and ardently expressed beliefs about Los Angeles’ past is the shadowy … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Our Sainted Streetcars – Glendale Edition

Posted on September 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

A postcard showing what the vendor says is a depot for the Los Angeles and Glendale Electric Interurban Railway system has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $249.99. Times clips show that by 1904, the Los Angeles and Glendale … Continue reading →

Posted in 1904, Downtown, Found on EBay, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

N.R.A. Frees Workers to Visit the Library

Posted on August 28, 2013 by lmharnisch

August 1933: In my journey through years ending in “3,” I have neglected 1933, when the National Recovery Act took effect  Aug. 1. President Roosevelt’s plan was to put people back to work by raising the minimum wage to $12 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Comics, Hollywood, Libraries, 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 →

Posted in A Kinder, Simpler Time, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Board of Supervisors Plan Toll Road to San Fernando Valley

Posted on April 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

Read the entire April 4, 1863, issue, from the Huntington Library, scanned by USC. April 4, 1863: Most of this issue of the Star is devoted to the Civil War and virulent criticism of the North, Abolitionists, President Lincoln, etc. … Continue reading →

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A 100-Year-Old Lesson on L.A. Traffic

Posted on December 14, 2012 by lmharnisch

A Times graphic shows the problem of passengers caught between the streetcars and lanes of traffic. Broadway and 7th Street in 1934, showing a man crossing through a lane of traffic to get to a streetcar. Notice that the driver … Continue reading →

Posted in 1912, Downtown, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Church Organist Accused of Killing Parents

Posted on June 20, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 20, 1942: Officials of San Diego’s streetcar system are dismayed that the 20 surplus cars obtained from New York are in worse shape than the ones San Diego scrapped two years earlier. San Diego acquired the cars in an … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Streetcars, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Church Organist Accused of Killing Parents

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 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 … Continue reading →

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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 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1883, Architecture, Downtown, Freeways, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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 … Continue reading →

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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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Freeways, Real Estate, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

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 … Continue reading →

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

July 11, 1908

Posted on July 11, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, a mangled mystery — a wrecked car on San Fernando Road, stripped of anything that might identify the owner. But to no avail, for the truth will out. ive people riding in an auto are badly hurt when the … Continue reading →

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July 10, 1908

Posted on July 10, 2008 by lmharnisch

A meeting of ranchers from the Los Nietos and La Habra valleys. Although the image is murky, it’s possible to make out one wagon and one automobile. arning: Some readers aren’t going to like this post because it contradicts today’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Freeways, Front Pages, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on July 10, 1908