Women in Little Tokyo Charged as B-Girls

And all this time, I thought people were joking about winning the Irish Sweepstakes.  The prolonged steel strike puts 6,100 local General Motors employees out of work. The affected factories are GM's Chevrolet, Fisher Body and truck plants in the San Fernando Valley and the Buick-Pontiac-Oldsmobile plant in South Gate. Note: GM called it the Van Nuys plant, but the factory was actually in Panorama City.

Oct. 28, 1959: Women working in a Little Tokyo restaurant are charged with violating the law against B-girls. San Francisco’s ballpark is nearly ready, with an enormous parking area and seating for 44,000, the Mirror says … and Mickey Mantle says he wouldn't be surprised if the Yankees traded him.

Grauman to Remodel Rialto Theater

Oct. 27, 1919: Sid Grauman has big plans for the Rialto theater on Broadway near 8th Street. Grauman will install a Wurlitzer organ and cover the theater’s seats in white satin. The first three films booked after the theater reopens are “Male and Female,” “Scarlet Days” and “Everywoman.”

Landmark Nightclub Modernized

Virginia Arness attempts suicide in Hawaii. The Biltmore Bowl is heavily modernized so that is virtually unrecognizable.

New and Old Chinatown, divided by Broadway. "I don't belong to the tong. I am an American. I belong to the Kiwanis Club."

Five copies a minute, only 2 1/2 cents each.

The Lions beat the Rams, 17-7.

L.A. County Seeks to Curb Smog

Oct. 24, 1959: Smog continues to blight Los Angeles. City Hall is barely visible from Temple and Hill streets. And Walter O'Malley promises that Dodger Stadium will be dignified.

Delay for Caryl Chessman

Oct. 22, 1959: President Eisenhower transfers German rocket scientists led by Wernher von Braun from Army jurisdiction to NASA.

Luau anyone? The Dodgers submitted a map for their Chavez Ravine ballpark and some of the features were downright headline grabbers. Proposed were a sit-down restaurant, a quick service restaurant, a carwash and automotive center. And a group-luau restaurant. The City Council quickly moved to delay the whole matter for further study. The city attorney said the automotive center was at the request of traffic and police officials who wanted something nearby to handle stalled cars and overheated engines. "We know that the confusion about the map is very definitely our responsibility," Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley said in The Times Oct. 24. "The baseball stadium will be set in a tastefully landscaped park and of course will be completely without any shoddy atmosphere or commercialism. This is what we have pledged and what we have always intended to build." Personally, I would have loved the luau. But the gas station certainly is part of the Dodger Stadium landscape and without it, there never would have been this classic commercial with Tom Lasorda taking Vin Scully out of the game. --Keith Thursby

Plaza Festival Celebrates Columbus Day

What the stalwart young lad is wearing.

Oct. 22, 1909: Columbus Day is celebrated at the Plaza with a surprising array of ethnic groups. I’ve seen postcards of the Indian Village at Eastlake Park, but have never found out too much about it. I’d be interested to know which band of Apaches was in Los Angeles. Notice that in addition to Spanish dances, the youngsters did Dutch and Greek dances. And somehow, in celebrating Columbus Day, people found a way to reconnect with “the early times and romance of California.” Father John Caballeria says: "We should all encourage this glorious spirit of the past and the old mission days of Southern California should never be forgotten. The Indians and the dances all show what great work has been accomplished in the past and just as great a work will be done in the future. This old mission is the mother of the churches in Los Angeles, as all of the churches in the city started from her. The old mission is getting old, very old, and for this reason we want to preserve its walls. The old mission needs lots of help."

President Asks Court to Halt Steel Strike

Oct. 20, 1959: No clemency for Caryl Chessman, governor says ... Calling it a sad day for America, President Eisenhower tells the Justice Department to seek a federal injunction to halt a strike by the United Steelworkers of America.

“Created 2-Headed Dog” is perhaps the best kicker I have ever seen. Security at Errol Flynn's funeral is so tight that film comedian Jack Oakie is barred.  Flynn was buried next to a statue of a woman titled "Flowers of Remembrance." One mourner says "Errol would have liked having a beautiful woman watch over him night and day. Hollywood is “a little too rough,” so Beverly Aadland, Errol Flynn’s girlfriend, is staying with attorney Melvin Belli in San Francisco ...

Jack Smith on men's fashions.

The Dodgers won yet another legal round in their fight to build a new ballpark in Chavez Ravine as the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed three appeals on the legality of deeding the area to the ballclub. But don't think the fighting was over. John Holland, a City Councilman who had long opposed the Dodgers moving to Chavez Ravine, said the council "must respect this contract but in areas where we are allowed to use our own judgment, I may still register my opposition to these plans." In other words, stay tuned. The Times' Jeane Hoffman said construction crews hoped to finish leveling the dirt for the ballpark by January. The paper's coverage included a vision of what Dodger Stadium was expected to look like once completed and a photo of earth movers and bulldozers working in Chavez Ravine. One house can still be seen. --Keith Thursby

Lunch With the Daily Mirror

Photograph by Navid Nonahal / Los Angeles Times

Oct. 17, 2009: We had a festive time on Saturday at Philippe, discussing Los Angeles history, vintage movies, the true origin of the French dip sandwich and tips on blogging.  I think we have enough material for someone to do a doctoral dissertation analyzing the enduring influence of car dealers’ TV ads on the vernacular culture of Los Angeles. Above, from left, Robert Daeley (Trolley Dodger), Larry Harnisch, Bruce Swanson (a second- generation LATer), Ed Fuentes (View From a Loft), Alex Justice (Loyola Marymount) and James Curtis (biographer of Preston Sturges, W.C. Fields and Spencer Tracy). Not shown, Miles Corwin (“Homicide Special”) and Navid Nonahal, who is interning with the Daily Mirror this semester.  I hope to have another lunch in early December. Stay tuned for details.

Lunch With the Daily Mirror – Oct. 17

Our lunch gatherings at Philippe have been so enjoyable that I thought it would be fun to have another. We’re shooting for Saturday, Oct. 17, at noon in the mass transit/clown alcove. Stop  by and discuss mystery photos, old Los Angeles, classic  movies and whatever else we think up. Philippe is at 1001 N. Alameda near Union Station.

Residents Flee Big Tujunga Fire, Oct. 16, 1959

Oct. 16, 1959: Mae West is censored … and Gov. Pat Brown hints that he may show mercy to Caryl Chessman. Audrey Hepburn in “The Nun’s Story.”

Local freeways would need "major surgery" to handle the traffic from Dodger fans heading to Chavez Ravine, the general manager of the city's traffic department told the traffic commission. S.S. Taylor said at least 65% of fans attending Dodger games at the yet-to-be-built ballpark would be using freeways. His report was based on studying traffic patterns used by fans at two Dodger games against the Giants in August. The traffic problems were of great magnitude but not insurmountable, Taylor said. Well, I knew there was some good news to be found. -- Keith Thursby