On the Frontiers of Medicine

Jan. 11, 1907
Los Angeles

A woman living on a hog ranch near the Santa Fe railroad crossing over the Los Angeles River contacted police after seeing dismembered human bodies in the old dumping ground near George Street.

Investigators dug through the dump, retrieving the body of a child that was nearly intact, along with bits and pieces of a man and a woman, including their skulls. In addition to the remains, police found books and papers traced to the University of Southern California Medical School.

 “Whoever is responsible for the depositing of the remains on the garbage heap should be severely censured,” Coroner Roy S. Lanterman told The Times.

“It seems quite heartless enough to give up the human body to further science but when the students have finished dissecting the remains they should see that they are interred with the proper respect. I cannot understand the action of those responsible for sending the bodies to the garbage heap.”

For further reading on the sorry state of medical schools at the turn of the 20th century, read Abraham Flexner’s “Medical Education in the U.S. and Canada.” Note that in this era, medical students didn’t even need to be high school graduates.

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The Floods


Jan. 9-10, 1907

The worst storm in 23 years blew across Southern California with the force of a gale, dumping more than an inch of rain in Pasadena, killing an Orange County rancher, washing out railroad tracks, collapsing tunnels and leaving nearly every small ship in Santa Barbara sunk, driven ashore or pounded into kindling.

Floodwaters destroyed a railroad bridge under construction near Ventura, cutting off the Southern Pacific’s coastal rail service, and at Summerland, oil rigs along the shore were ripped to pieces. The San Fernando Valley was especially hard hit: The Times reports that a bridge over the Big Tujunga Wash was underwater and that the river was a mile wide and impassible. The roar of the Pacoima River can be heard two miles away, The Times says.

The Arroyo Seco tore out a railroad line and threw freight cars as if they were toys, carrying a torrent of trash and broken trees down from the mountains through Pasadena.

South of downtown, the Los Angeles River was at flood stage and threatening to destroy the 7th Street Bridge, where pedestrians were warned that they crossed at their own risk.

Many avenues were flooded from curb to curb and churning water threw aside heavy iron manhole covers and flowed from the storm sewers, turning streets (paved and unpaved) into rivers. Streetcars plying the flooded boulevards looked like ships sailing in canals and gallant conductors carried female passengers through the water to the curb.

A 75-year-old Santa Ana rancher was killed when the buggy in which he and his brother were riding was washed away as they tried to cross Santiago Creek. The horse panicked in the raging flood and the buggy overturned. Ralph Williams, who was visiting from the East, was able to grab a willow branch and save himself, but his brother Charles was carried downstream, where his body was eventually found.

“The fording of torrents on the hill streets has seemed fraught with peril,” The Times says, “but the thousands of hardy adventurers, who have braved the currents all live to tell the tale. None has been swept away to a watery death in the many deep lakes which were formed about the city.”

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Lost Weekend – Full Schedule

Simplified Schedule….Printable…Don’t Miss A Minute!

Thurs. Jan. 11, 2pm, "Her Name Was Elizabeth" art exhibition opens at 446-450 S. Main Street. Crime Bus and VIP tickets available in gallery.
6pm-9pm, Opening art reception at 446-450 S. Main Street.
9pm, candlelight vigil to the Biltmore hosted by Kim and Nathan of 1947project departs 446-450 S. Main Street.
10:30pm-midnight, free (donations gladly accepted) screening of Ramzi Abed’s "Black Dahlia Movie" at 446-450 S. Main Street.

Fri, Jan. 12, 7am, Kim and Nathan of 1947project are interviewed on Joe Escalante’s show on Indie 103.1-FM.
6-9pm, "Have You Seen this Girl?" – a woman dressed as the Black Dahlia will glide eerily along Hollywood Boulevard between Argyle and Cherokee, the old stomping grounds of Elizabeth Short. Perhaps she will be found in the Frolic Room or Pig and Whistle, or just cruising the boulevard. This spectral figure carries a basket of flowers, and will give one to anyone who calls her by her true name, Elizabeth. One of these lucky flowers is valid as one free ticket on the Sunday morning January 14 Real Black Dahlia Crime Bus Tour, or for half off one seat on the VIP midnight tour and film premiere on Tuesday January 16.

Sat. Jan. 13, 11am-4pm, Real Black Dahlia Crime Bus Tour, click to buy.
7pm, John Gilmore author of "Severed" will read from his book and offer a Q&A about his experiences and investigation of The Black Dahlia Murder at 446-450 S. Main Street.
10pm, $5 screening of "Black Dahlia Movie" (popcorn and soda included in the price of admission) at 446-450 S. Main Street. Sunday Crime Bus and VIP tickets available in gallery.

Sun. Jan. 14, 11am-4pm, Real Black Dahlia Crime Bus Tour, click to buy.
Noon, gallery is open at 446-450 S. Main Street and VIP tickets are available.
6pm, screening of "Black Dahlia Movie" at 446-450 S. Main Street.

Mon. Jan. 15, 9pm, "Requiem For A Dahlia" live music from "Black Dahlia Movie" featuring David J, Ego Plum, Dame Darcy and Death By Doll, Bella Beretta, Courtney Cruz, Eliza Bane, The Great Merlini, Scarlett Letter, Lulu Lunaris, Vixen Magdalene and more, doors open at 9pm, show starts at 10pm.

Tues. Jan. 16, 6pm, Cocktails at the Biltmore Hotel, 5th/Olive
VIPs enjoy their first cocktail on US! For more info or to purchase VIP tickets, click here.
8pm, black carpet processional at Laemmle Grand 4-Plex, 345 S. Figueroa St. World premiere of "Black Dahlia Movie" begins 8:30pm. VIPs enjoy priority seating among luminaries.
10:30pm, Once in a lifetime 60th Anniversary Midnight Real Black Dahlia Crime Bus Tour begins after the screening, with stars and creators of "Black Dahlia Movie"! Tickets for just the late evening events, starting with the bus tour, are $100, available by clicking here before Tuesday at 5pm, or just bring cash or check to 345 S. Figueroa at 10:30pm, and if there are seats left you may buy one.

Find The Dahlia, Win A Crime Bus Ticket

The 60th Anniversary Lost Weekend of the Black Dahlia is nearly upon us, and we have two new events to announce.

On Friday, January 12, from 6-9pm, a woman dressed as the Black Dahlia will glide eerily along Hollywood Boulevard between Argyle and Cherokee, the old stomping grounds of Elizabeth Short. Perhaps she will be found in the Frolic Room or Pig and Whistle, or just cruising the boulevard. This spectral figure carries a basket of flowers, and will give one to anyone who calls her by her true name, Elizabeth. One of these lucky flowers is valid as one free ticket on the Sunday morning January 14 Real Black Dahlia Crime Bus Tour, or for half off one seat on the VIP midnight tour and film premiere on Tuesday January 16.

And on Thursday, January 11 at 9pm, a candlelit vigil will leave Regent Galleries, 446-450 South Main Street downtown, site of the Black Dahlia-inspired art exhibition "Her Name Was Elizabeth." Those wishing to show their respect for Elizabeth Short and other souls lost to violence will walk from Main Street to the Biltmore Hotel, the last place she was seen alive, then continue south for a few blocks along the route that police believe she took before being abducted. The vigil will be led by Kim Cooper and Nathan Marsak, hosts of 1947project’s Real Black Dahlia Crime Bus Tour, and true facts and myths of the case will be shared along the way. The group
will then return to Regent Galleries for a 10:30pm screening of Ramzi Abed’s "Black Dahlia Movie."

The Lost Weekend is six days of art exhibitions, readings, film screenings, live cabaret and Crime Bus tours celebrating the life, myth and legend of Elizabeth Short, The Black Dahlia. For a full schedule, visit https://myspace.com/thelostweekendlosangeles

We have some openings on the Saturday 1/13 Real Black Dahlia tour. To reserve your seat on Saturday, Sunday 1/14 or the Tuesday 1/16 VIP night, please visit https://www.dumplinglab.com/crimebus

Architectural Ramblings

A Trip to Oxford Avenue

Here’s an interesting contrast: Oxford Avenue between Washington Boulevard and the Santa Monica Freeway and Oxford Avenue north of Washington. South of Washington, Oxford seems a bit wider and the land between the curb and the sidewalk is fairly generous. Not so north of Washington and the lots seem a bit smaller. Wide strips of land between the curb and the sidewalk (more than the 5 feet that is common in much of Los Angeles) were one of the points urged by Charles Mulford Robinson in his “city beautiful” proposal.

Bonus fact: Robinson also said Angelenos should plant lots of jacaranda trees along the streets, so you can thank him for all those purple blooms.

First of all, here’s our featured house at 2045 S. Oxford Ave. from 1907. Note the stucco.




And here are some of the neighboring homes:

Note: More stucco!



All things considered, I’d have to say this stretch of Oxford is a one of the more interesting areas that I’ve visited. The neighborhood is mostly intact and there’s a 1920s-style church at the end of the block next to the Santa Monica.

Now for one of the homes in the 1700 block of Oxford Avenue, which is a little funkier. Recall that the precise address listed in The Times couldn’t be located.

And for the vehicle of the week, here’s a stretch limo I saw at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia:


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