A postcard showing an unusual view of Broadway, with the courthouse in the foreground at left and City Hall in the background, has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $7.99.
A lot of 12 postcards, including Polytechnic High School, top left, and the library, bottom left, has been listed on EBay. Other postcards include Angels Flight, Bullock's downtown, the fountain at what is now Pershing Square, the alligator farm and the Plaza Church. Bidding starts at $9.99.
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.
July 11, 1889: One of the best things about the 1880s newspapers is that The Times wrote about everything. One of the more controversial issues before the Police Commission is what to do with all the prostitutes in Los Angeles. Accusations of false arrest ... appointment of a police matron ... selling off the department's old horses ... it's all here.
In the early 20th century, Charles Mulford Robinson wrote a series of books on beautifying cities and developed specific plans for such places as Detroit and Los Angeles. Robinson proposed that Los Angeles build a Union Station, straighten Spring Street and plant jacarandas. He also advocated a scenic drive from downtown to Pasadena and a large library on 5th Street. Sound familiar?
A copy of his plan for Honolulu has been listed on EBay. It's priced at $85, a bit expensive for an ex-library book, but it's hard to find.
July 8, 1889: Dutch Pete and Charles Beaucaire make a bet on the Sullivan-Kilrain fight. Evidently the loser will carry the winner in a wheelbarrow from the Anheuser saloon to the Nadeau Hotel, at 1st and Spring, and back. A band will accompany them.
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.
Larry Harnisch. The leading Black Dahlia expert and a collaborator in the 1947project, Harnisch has been a copy editor at The Times since 1988. He has appeared on many TV shows discussing the Dahlia case, notably "James Ellroy's Feast of Death."
Join him for a spin through old Los Angeles in the Mirror's radio car. Keep your eyes open for Mickey Cohen and Tempest Storm. It's quite a ride.
The reporter's badge belonged to Sid Hughes (1908-1958), legendary reporter who worked at nearly every newspaper in Los Angeles.
Keith Thursby. Keith has been an editor at The Times in news, sports and design since 1986. The Rams moved to St. Louis on his first day as assistant sports editor of the paper's Orange County edition. He grew up in Norwalk and lives in Irvine.
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Larry Harnisch. The leading Black Dahlia expert and a collaborator in the 1947project, Harnisch has been a copy editor at The Times since 1988. He has appeared on many TV shows discussing the Dahlia case, notably "James Ellroy's Feast of Death."
Join him for a spin through old Los Angeles in the Mirror's radio car. Keep your eyes open for Mickey Cohen and Tempest Storm. It's quite a ride.
The reporter's badge belonged to Sid Hughes (1908-1958), legendary reporter who worked at nearly every newspaper in Los Angeles.
Keith Thursby. Keith has been an editor at The Times in news, sports and design since 1986. The Rams moved to St. Louis on his first day as assistant sports editor of the paper's Orange County edition. He grew up in Norwalk and lives in Irvine.