L.A. Times Past

L.A. Times Past | Exploring the archives, 1881 to now

[latimespast]

Laden Heavens Throw Floral Beauties Into Brighter Relief. 

Fairest of Earth Bound to Pasadena's Chariot Wheels. 

Sixty Thousand Persons Cheer the Rolling Spoil of a Thousand Gardens.

Those are just a few of the Los Angeles Times headlines after a rainy Rose Parade 100 years ago.

The Times published a description of every float. Some highlights:

GOATS AND KIDS. The California Milch [cq?] Goat Association entered a unique float of goats and kids and boys and girls. E.W. Batrick was in charge.

FORESTRY DEPARTMENT. The Los Angeles Forestry Department showed a miniature grove of palms and many varieties of standard and rare trees and shrubs. This attractive exhibit was surmounted by the motto: When we plant a tree, we are doing what we can for those who come after us.

LA CANADA. An immense floral slipper bearing eight pretty girls made the entry of the La Canada Improvement Association one to be greatly admired. The slipper was covered with mountain sage and roses and was on a platform of smilax and mountain ferns. The young women in the slipper wore pink costumes and rosebud hats. They were Misses Helen Cooper, Harriet Horn, Fanny Jewett, Flossie Lee, Catherine Green, Aldine Norton, Gladys Granger and Clara Armstrong.

COX HORSE AND POODLE. Mrs. J.C. Cox drove her beautiful black horse to a drag, occupied by herself, a friend and her immaculate white poodle, that sat on its haunches throughout the parade. The harness of the horse was white, trimmed with carnations. The wheels of the drag were intertwined with white chrysanthemums and a canopy of flowers covered occupants of the vehicle. Poinsettias and calla lilies were the contrasting flowers used in the decoration.

OCEAN PARK BATHERS. Those ever-present bathing girls of Ocean Park were on hand in their natty and alluring bathing suits. The girls were picked from the hardiest of the bathing race, the group that takes a plunge no matter how low the thermometer, and therefore did not seem disturbed in the least by the coolness and rain. Water is their element and they managed to smile throughout the parade. The float represented a portion of the beach. The body of the machine was covered with sweet-smelling narcissus bordered by poinsettias. R.W. Hadden, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, was among those on the float.

Happy New Year.

And here’s everything you need to know about this year’s festivities.

-- Matt Ballinger

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That’s the first ever queen of the Tournament of Roses, Hallie Woods, with her royal court in 1905. In 1948, The Times caught up with her:

“There weren’t so many people present,” she was quoted as saying. “No automobiles, no movie cameras, no dreams of fame and a career.

“But it was a big thrill to me. I think it will always be.”

Read the rest: First 'Rose Queen' Says It Was Thrill (And don’t miss the story’s ending; it’s got a lovely little flourish.)

For this year’s festivities, here’s everything you need to know.

-- Matt Ballinger

Photo: Hallie Woods, shown here with her court in 1905, will forever hold the honor of being the first rose queen. Credit: Graham Barclay / Tournament of Roses Archives

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I’m putting together some materials on the 1916 Rose Parade but couldn’t ignore these headlines on Page One of the Los Angeles Times on Jan. 2 of that year. 

A three-hour earthquake felt from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific? It was “San Andreas” but for real! 

Except not. I’ve found very little information from other sources about a major New Year’s Day earthquake in 1916.

And by the Jan. 4 edition, The Times was calling it a “slight earthquake shock”:

It would seem that the only injury from the “catastrophe of three hours’ duration” was to a switchboard operator who got a cramp handling all those phone calls.

-- Matt Ballinger

Images: Portions of Los Angeles Times articles from Jan. 2 and 4, 1916. Credit: Los Angeles Times archive

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I just love this Los Angeles Times photo of Meadowlark Lemon, the Harlem Globetrotters star who died Sunday at age 83. The photo was taken by Fitzgerald Whitney in 1972 in L.A.; Lemon was demonstrating ball-twirling.

-- Matt Ballinger

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A sampling of headlines from the front page of the Los Angeles Times 100 years ago today:

End of War Presaged Before Next Christmas.

Japan May Send Army to Assist the Allies.

In the Trenches. May Declare a Truce to Celebrate Christmas

Best Navy in World. Must Have It, Says General Board.

Wilsons See Santa Claus; Nearly Hit By Golf Ball

That last one is a reference to President Woodrow Wilson and his new wife, Edith, who had recently been married and were honeymooning in Virginia. (It was Wilson’s second marriage; his first wife died the year before.) The Times seemed very interested in their golf game -- on Dec. 24, a headline mentioned that the president’s wife was learning how to play (”Fore. Mrs. Wilson Learning Golf. Reports say she is proving an apt pupil.”) Then the Christmas Day article mentions that a Mr. Barton French, playing the course behind the presidential couple, almost hit the Wilsons with a golf ball. The president asked Mr. French to play ahead.

Merry Christmas.

-- Matt Ballinger

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Fifty years ago today, The Times “guaranteed” a white Christmas in Southern California’s mountain areas. The weather report from Dec. 24, 1965, sounds a lot like what we’ve been experiencing this week. And considering all the precipitation we’ve had in the L.A. basin of late, the mountains could be snowy this year too. 

Read the full article: White Yuletide Guaranteed for Mountain Areas

Merry Christmas, and be safe out there in the weather.

-- Matt Ballinger

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The Times’ Doug Smith this week had an interesting examination of the exotic and dying trees of Elysian Park.

Around the turn of the 20th century, the dedicated stewards of Elysian Park were in an exotic mood. Eucalyptus, deodar cedar and Mexican palm were their fancy. Their canvas was the miniature range of ridges and sequestered canyons linked to downtown through Chavez Ravine, which decades later would become Dodger Stadium.

With access to federal recovery funds and plentiful labor during the Great Depression, they laid pipe and planted forests and glens that gave actual meaning to the park's name, Elysian — the mythical place where the virtuous went after death.

Now, those forests, some 100 years old, are nearing the end of their life cycles. The irrigation system that sustained them is broken. Drought and pests have accelerated the effects of age. The trees are dying.

Above is a photo spread published in 1923 showing some of those exotic trees, which the city was cultivating in Elysian Park for use in parks around the city. There are Atlas cedars, which are native to northwestern Africa; sycamores, commonly found on the East Coast; and the queen palm, a tropical tree. Click on the image of the page above to explore it further.

Read the rest of Smith’s article: Recovery plan lies dormant as Elysian Park’s exotic trees die off

-- Matt Ballinger

[latimespast]

A few days after Thanksgiving in 1965, the Cossman family of Studio City had a guest who was overstaying its welcome.

The bird ... is hardly a turkey. It may or may not be a duck. 

And Sunday afternoon Cossman, of 12502 Milbank St., Studio City, was hardly giving thanks.

“How the hell do you get a duck out of your pool?” he asked as he glowered at what certainly looked like a duck swimming in the deep end of his backyard plunge.

“We had five people here with nets but he’s too fast,” Cossman said. “We can’t catch him. We’ve tried everything.”

Read the rest of the article: Bird Came to Dinner and Won’t Go Away

And whether you’re serving turkey, duck, turducken or tofurky, have a delightful Thanksgiving.

-- Matt Ballinger

Image: Screengrab of a photo that ran on Page 3 of the Nov. 29, 1965, Los Angeles Times. 

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1940: Service Men to Dine in Style

This type of article is no reporter’s favorite assignment, but whoever wrote this unbylined article, which ran in the Nov. 21, 1940, Los Angeles Times, did a commendable job.

Turkey by the ton, garnished in a festive style that would delight a gourmet, will be attacked in tomorrow’s major offensive by some 30,000 sailors, marines and soldiers enjoying Thanksgiving in San Diego aboard warships and in shore establishments.

...

For those who don’t prefer the traditional bird, there will be Virginia baked ham.

Startlingly different from their brothers-in-arms is the crew of 1000, which will dine at the destroyer base. These bluejackets decided in a poll conducted by the kitchen overlords they’d rather have flaked loin of pork a la Heath (the latter being a culinary artist from the enlisted ranks.) This will be decorated with buttered baby lima beans, snowflake potatoes, celery, lettuce, olives and one-half avocado, followed by strawberry shortcake, coffee, milk or iced lemonade and cigars and cigarettes.

Read the full 1940 article: Service Men to Dine in Style

More on Thanksgiving from The Times’ Food section

-- Matt Ballinger

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For $2.50 90 years ago, you could get a Thanksgiving meal and an evening of dancing to Ray West’s Alexandria Orchestra in the Franco-Italian room at the Hotel Alexandria in downtown L.A. This beautiful advertisement ran with dozens of others on Page 7 of the Nov. 25, 1925, Los Angeles Times. Click on the image above to see the full page.

Anybody serving “Mock Turtle aux Quenelles” on Thursday?

-- Matt Ballinger

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This advertisement for the dentists Lutz and Lutz ran on Page I9 in the Nov. 21, 1915, Los Angeles Times.

It sounds like a very convenient dental-health experience -- plus there was a “Lady Attendant.”

For a more modern Thanksgiving, here’s The Times’ guide.

-- Matt Ballinger

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Happy Thanksgiving

The plan this week is to publish one archival item a day -- from 100 years ago, 90 years ago, 75 years ago and 50 years ago -- with a Thanksgiving theme. The 1915 item will post later today.

Meanwhile, from the present, here are a few Times items to help you prepare for Thursday’s festivities:

Day-by-day guide to prepping for Thanksgiving

Where to eat out or get takeout on Thanksgiving

Don’t panic: Here’s how to carve a Thanksgiving turkey

-- Matt Ballinger

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I thought it would be fitting to close this week’s exploration of typography with this dispatch from The Times basement. Above a door that leads to a staircase is a lovely exit sign that glows mostly for no one.

Here’s a closer look.

It’s green, of course, and the texture makes me think it could be stained glass (though it might be plastic). The two aspects that stand out to me are the serifs, especially on the E and the T; and the slanted middle line on the E.

This sign is well off the beaten track and the highlight of no tours, but when I noticed it recently, something about it stood out -- and pushed me to embark on this week-long exploration of typography and lettering around the building.

Finally, the answer to yesterday’s question: That’s the Spring Street lobby’s directory first, the Globe Lobby’s second.

-- Matt Ballinger

Photos: An exit sign in the basement of the Los Angeles Times building. Credit; Matt Ballinger / Los Angeles Times

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Mailboxes are eye-catching features of the two main lobbies of the Los Angeles Times building in downtown L.A. And I’ve always been fascinated by what must be custom lettering on their facades.

The top image is of the Globe Lobby mailbox. That part of the building was built in the 1930s. I love how there is no negative space in the P and how the A’s have similar (but not identical) shapes. The second image is from the Spring Street lobby, part of a 1948 building. The lettering is similar -- notice the A shapes and the E’s. But the U’s on the Spring Street mailbox are squarer than those in the Globe Lobby.

And the Times Eagle is on both, but in strikingly different representations.

Also in both lobbies are building directories with beautiful type. Can you guess which is which?

-- Matt Ballinger

Photos: Mailboxes and directories in the Globe and Spring Street lobbies at the Los Angeles Times building. Credit: Matt Ballinger / Los Angeles Times

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Eqval Rights. Trve Indvstrial Freedom.

Los Angeles Times building

That’s the answer to the trivia question in the previous post. The Vs are meant to be read as U’s, of course.

More typography posts to come...

-- Matt Ballinger

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Slight change in plans. Today I was going to talk about Art Deco lettering on a mailbox, but I’ll do that tomorrow. And it will be two mailboxes! Today, let’s look at the facade of The Times’ headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.

Above the doorway to the Globe Lobby on First Street are the words “Los Angeles Times” -- and on either side are reliefs of The Times’ eagle and a few words. The one on the left side of the doorway says “Truth,” then “Liberty under the law.” The U’s are represented as Vs, in the style of old monuments and inscriptions. 

Trivia: What does the relief on the other side of the doorway say?

-- Matt Ballinger

Photo: The exterior of The Times building on First Street in downtown Los Angeles. Credit: Matt Ballinger / Los Angeles Times

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“The newspaper is a greater treasure to the people than uncounted millions of gold. There is no dimming, no effacement here. Each new pulsation keeps the record clear.”

That text rings the Los Angeles Times’ Globe Lobby, and I thought the word “newspaper” -- specifically the style of writing in which it is displayed -- would be a good place to launch an exploration of typography around The Times’ building in downtown L.A.

The first sentence is from an 1887 book of Henry Ward Beecher sayings, “Proverbs from Plymouth Pulpit.” (Here is an 1887 Times article on Beecher’s death: “Beecher Dead.”) The next two lines are from a poem, “The Memory of the Heart,” by Daniel Webster, a famous U.S. congressman who lived from 1782 to 1852. 

Let’s look a bit more closely at that type. The S stands out immediately.

But more interesting to me is the R. 

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen the vertical and diagonal straight lines of an R connected like that.

So as we kick off this week of interesting Times typography, let me note that I am in no way an expert on the subject. I can tell you the difference between serif and sans-serif type, of course, but my knowledge runs out soon after that. So if there are experts (and I have a couple of colleagues in mind who I’ll try to talk with this week) who want to weigh in, please get in touch. And if you have examples of interesting typography at The Times building or elsewhere, post it on your Tumblr or tweet it @latimespast; I’ll try to reblog it.

Coming tomorrow: Some Art Deco type from an elevator lobby.

-- Matt Ballinger

Photo: The word “newspaper” in The Times’ Globe Lobby, photographed on Nov. 16, 2015. Credit: Matt Ballinger / Los Angeles Times