Woman Turns Informant in Jewel Robbery

July 13, 1889: A smash and grab robbery at 1st and Spring ... an old man robbed by a prostitute ... a forgetful woman ... and The Times finds fault with the new City Hall on Broadway, shown below left. Although City Hall is gone, the 1914-15 annex, known as the Hosfield Building or the Victor Clothing building, is still standing. View Larger Map

Mayor Rebukes Police Chief for Insubordination

July 12, 1899: The mayor apologetically rebukes the police chief for talking back to a police commissioner.

Artist's Notebook: City Hall

Los Angeles City Hall, July 3, 2009

Since I began posting Nuestro Pueblo last year, I've wanted to feature contemporary artwork of historic Los Angeles in the spirit of what Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens did in 1938-39. Not long ago, I met Marion Eisenmann, a German artist who was interested in a similar project. After a few discussions we decided to collaborate. It seemed natural to start with City Hall, which is probably the building that is most closely associated with Los Angeles. City Hall appears frequently in the Nuestro Pueblo drawings, often in the background, because at that time it was the tallest building in Los Angeles. What you see here is City Hall in the middle, with City Hall East in the background and then a corner of The Times Building to the right. Off on the left is the criminal courts building. It's common these days for artists to work from photographs but this was done at a shady spot on Bunker Hill, in front of the Colburn School on Olive Street. I hope to post more of Marion's artwork in the future. In the meantime, you can contact her here.

Nixon Dedicates Sports Arena

July 5, 1959: Vice President Richard Nixon waves during the dedication of the Sports Arena.

It has been a long time since anyone referred to the Los Angeles Sports Arena as a "marvel of modern design." But that was the Mirror-News' view in an editorial celebrating the arena's dedication. This would be a sports arena without a team--the Lakers were still a part of the city's future. Shoot, people were still getting used to having the Dodgers in town. Vice President Richard Nixon was the keynote speaker, mixing sports metaphors with a preview of the stump speak he'd use in his run for the presidency. The Times' story included Nixon's three rules for participants in all sports: "No. 1: Never quit, no matter how tough the going. No. 2: The best defense is a good offense. No. 3: Play to win. Don't play a defensive game." He was talking about sports, but sure sounded a lot like his brand of politics too. Having Nixon speak at the dedication of an arena that would host the Democratic National Convention was a nice piece of irony. Nixon said the convention "may turn out to be the battle of the century." --Keith Thursby

Griffith Park Hermit Is War Veteran; Dodger Case May Go to Supreme Court

July 1, 1959: Coming soon, "Porgy and Bess" and "Anatomy of a Murder" David Williams became the first African American federal judge west of the Mississippi. At left, African American Judge David Williams is overruled in dismissing cases against blacks. Williams infuriated Chief Parker by saying that enforcement of gambling laws was biased. At one point, Williams said that if blacks wanted to gamble they should go into white neighborhoods, because the laws weren't enforced there.  World War II veteran Dennis Farrell has become the Griffith Park hermit. Farrell was committed to the VA hospital for psychiatric treatment.  The court fight to stop the Dodgers from building a ballpark in Chavez Ravine apparently wasn't over after all. Louis Kirschbaum asked the Supreme Court to reverse the California Supreme Court's ruling that effectively started the plans rolling for a new baseball stadium, The Times covered the story with a short wire report. Maybe I missed it, but I would have thought a story on Kirschbaum and the other principals who tried to block the Dodgers' move would have made a good story. I never found one--and would love to be proved wrong if I've missed it. --Keith Thursby

Grand Jury Vice Probe! Gilmore Field Expanded

"Put That Pistol Down, Young Lady."

Keith's 1949 post on Gilmore Field has dropped us in the middle of an extremely complicated grand jury investigation of the Los Angeles Police Department. To summarize: Officers James Parslow, Thomas C. Lindholm and Port A. Stevens were suspended by a police board that included future Chief William Parker for using excessive force during an arrest. The officers were partners of Sgt. Charles Stoker, a figure in the Brenda Allen scandal,  and they accused police officials of trying to undermine Chief C.B. Horrall to obtain control of vice in Los Angeles.   This is quite a page: Louise Overell, acquitted of helping Bud Gollum kill her parents, plans to get married. Police search for leads in the Green Twig murder of Louise Springer, who was kidnapped while sitting in a car a few blocks from the Black Dahlia crime scene.

City and county officials look for ways to keep chronic alcoholics out of the legal system. .   Episcopal humor! Ludovico Muratori, on location for "God's Earth," is killed by fumes from Stromboli volcano. Leah Ruth Chase says her husband, screenwriter Borden Chase, is having an affair with her daughter from a previous marriage. She wants a handgun permit -- and she wants her husband's gun permit revoked. I'm amazed this got into The Times -- even as a one-column ad.

The postwar building boom reached the minor leagues. The Hollywood Stars planned to transform Gilmore Field by turning bleacher seats into about 260 box seats and 1,000 grandstand seats. "We hope this will take a little pressure off the demand for box seats and reserved grandstand seats," said Oscar Reichow, the team's business manager. The right-field fence also would be removed so about 4.000 bleacher seats could be added. Here's a silent home movie showing the ballpark in 1957. Looks like the plans might have been altered or not completed. --Keith Thursby

City May Cut Police Overtime

June 25, 1899: A City Council committee weighs the complicated issue of police salaries. Some officers complain that their duties require more than an eight-hour workday. Another issue is whether travel time to get to their beats should be included in calculating their hours.

Paul V. Coates -- Confidential File, June 19, 1959

Confidential File A Quiet Man Made Noisy Headlines Herbert Greenwood, the quiet man, made loud headlines yesterday. He announced his resignation from the Los Angeles Police Commission, and in the same breath, accused this city's police department and its chief, William Parker, of some very unbecoming attitudes and behavior. It was a big story. But a story with equal impact is the one behind why Greenwood did it. It was as out of character for him to sound off as it would be for George Jessel to turn down an offer to serve as toastmaster. For a lot of years, Greenwood's been connected in one way or another with public service. No matter what the assignment, he did it the best way he knew how: by working hard with an undramatic diligence and an unsensational dedication. He disliked public controversy and shunned publicity. He almost made a career of staying in the background, of being an uncontroversial figure. He did it, plus the jobs he undertook to do, with high record of success. This, undoubtedly, was an important factor in Mayor Poulson's choice of Greenwood as a police commissioner six years ago. Greenwood, being a Negro, would give the board "balance." And he had the kind of personality to smooth over, rather than fire up, any problems between the Negro community and the police. This, I'm told, he accomplished very well for quite a while. He considered it strictly a secondary duty -- his main job being to represent all of the people of Los Angeles. Eventually, however, the Negro press began playing up incidents of alleged police brutality and prejudice. They screamed for action. And when no action came, one of the papers in particular aimed its guns at Greenwood. In vicious attacks, he was called practically every name in the book. Badly neglecting his private law practice, the commissioner set out to investigate the charges against the police. But here, he ran into one problem after another. He wasn't satisfied himself with the way the police were investigating the allegations. Some of the police reports, he felt, were deliberately slanted to protect the involved officers. Sometimes, he said, he was just plain refused access to certain information. And other times, he had reason to believe, files were "thinned out" before he got them. There was a situation a few months ago where colored office girls were being accosted regularly by Caucasian Don Juans. His own daughter was among the victims. But when some Negro community leaders met with the police to request action, they were reportedly politely informed, "We're not going around rousting anybody." Greenwood was conscientious in checking out many complaints against the police, not all of them involving Negroes. His conclusion was that it's just impossible to expect a police officer to do an unbiased job investigating another police officer. Apparently, Greenwood worked his way into the position of being the police commission "rebel" -- the man who wasn't willing to back Chief Parker on every issue solely because Parker was chief. He wanted answers, explanations -- but he didn't get them. Herbert Greenwood Spoke So he decided to get out. He could go gracefully, he knew. Resign without a reason. That way, he would save embarrassment for himself, his friends, his family. He could keep his reputation as the quiet man. But instead, Herbert Greenwood spoke. Already under attack in his own community for "doing nothing," he added to his woes by firing the indignation of the police department for "doing something." Herbert Greenwood, today is a disenchanted man.

Council Debates Cow Ordinance

June 18, 1889: The City Council debates measures on keeping cows and chickens in downtown Los Angeles.

Minstrels and the Salvation Army -- Charles Ives Would Love It

June 7, 1889 Pairing a minstrel show and a Salvation Army band sounds like something Charles Ives might have liked. June 7, 1899: A jail inmate says a trusty beat him with a heavy set of keys.