Just after the New Year arrives, the paid policeforce LA, and the world, knows as the LAPD willreach the fine age of 142. The Historical Society ishonored to tell the stories subsumed in theDepartment’s many decades of service andsacrifice. To do this, it is often necessary to delveinto the histories related in and through a series ofpublications throughout time. Abbreviatedhistories of the Department have been toldthrough the three major yearbooks, which werepublished in 1937, 1984 and 2000. Publishedhistory was also found in a lesson plan created byChief William H. Parker and a brochure from thetenure of Chief Ed Davis. Sometimes history wasvisited in the annual reports and in the pages ofthe Beat magazine.

One of the earliest renditions of LAPD historyis found in the 1911 souvenir album produced bythe Los Angeles Police Relief Association. Thealbum contains many photos and even moreadvertisements. Both provide a perspectiveunique to early 20th century Los Angeles. TheDepartment’s history at the time is revealed in itspages, along with the Department operationscurrent to 1911. It was a time when motorcycleshad been in service for little more than 5 years.The mounted patrol was still active, as was apatrol wagon.

The page that speaks of the ReceivingHospital opens thusly, “One of the multifariousduties of the police department is furnishingemergency aid to injured or wounded persons…”As this section closes, it reminds readers thatofficers are trained in giving first aid to injured

persons. Supplies for this were apparently kept ineach police alarm box.

The stations, police courts and otherestablished operational concerns are covered indetail. Less is revealed about some early efforts atwhat are now established elements of theDepartment. For instance, the revolver range,which is not so much a revolver range anymore,was not of the open-air variety. Rather, the 1911version was located in a basement with four 20-yard revolver ranges and three 25-yard rifleranges. A sizable cellar this must have been. Justtwo pages later, the annual speaks of Police dogs,a pair of them that were used “…to hunt in darkcorners and blind alleys for loiterers and to routthem out.” Detective Louis Rico cared for theanimals. For as much as this was a time long ago,some things remain quite the same.

Los Angeles Police Historical Society Newsletter No. 42 November/December 2010

Museum & CommunityEducation Center

continued on page 5

Looking ahead to 2011,Looking back to 1911

By Glynn MartinExecutive Director

2 November/December 2010

What’s Happening at Old Number 11By: Glynn Martin

As the year wound down for the Historical Society,it was a time to engage in activities that were bothfamiliar, and completely new. Some of our effortswere devoted to those that arrive at thistime every year, and we ventured outinto the archives world to joinothers. Most importantly, weintroduced a new element tothe museum that has instantlyimproved our visitors’ experience,theaudio tour.

On October 13th, the tourwas officially unveiled in a smallceremony at the museum. Duringthe event the Historical Societysaid thanks to the talented peoplewho lent their voices to us. Thiswas our first indication we had ahit on our hands. Even the mosttalented and accomplishedenjoyed the audio tour. For theHistorical Society, this serves asthe verbal link that ties togetherthree floors of exhibits anddecades of LAPD history. Theaudio tour also elevates the Historical Society to aplace not travelled by other police museums.LAPHS is the only municipal police museum in thenation with a professionally produced audio tour.It’s a distinction we can all be proud of. Pleasemake sure you visit page 4 for some pictures fromthat event.

From a less verbal, but no less importantstandpoint, the Historical Society ventured awayfrom the museum for a brand new activity, the fifthannual LA as Subject Archives Bazaar. More than300 visitors stopped by the LAPHS display to get a better understanding of our collection of LAPDphotographs. The USC-based event was hugelysuccessful. The Historical Society was representedby staff, volunteers and directors. Each helpedvisitors with their curisosities about the history of

LAPD. To Alan Berta, Joan Renner, TraceySchuster, Beth Guynn and Mike DeCoudres, we owe our thanks. This was the second very

successful “road show” for LAPHS thisyear. Mike’s pictures of this event canbe found on the next page.

Although this event was nomystery, the Historical Societyfinally went to the air waves

with one of the many “Mysteriesat the Museum.” Episode 3 of thisnew Travel Channel seriesshowed off the LAPHS museumduring a segment about theinvolvement of Patty Hearst in thecrimes committed by the SLA.While the episode wasn’t exactlywhat we anticipated, it definitely helped to expose theHistorical Society to a muchwider audience.

This year’s Highland ParkHoliday parade, itself, had quitean audience. The crowdappeared to be larger than any in

recent memory. For those that lined Figueroa onDecember 5, they were treated to a look at therestored 1969 Plymouth Belvedere owned anddriven by LAPHS volunteer Mark Galoustian. Markhas made a number of public appearances with thevehicle in the past few months. The Adam-12 erablack and white is quite a conversation-starter, andwe are fortunate to have Mark here to assist us.

The strength of LAPHS has long been its coreof dedicated volunteers. Currently some of themost important collection’s projects are beingskillfully handled by our volunteers. Our annualholiday luncheon, held this year at the TamO’Shanter was a wonderful get together where weexpressed our gratitude to these committedpeople. Somehow lunch doesn’t seem to cover

continued on page 5

November/December 2010 3

LAPHS at the Archives BazaarOctober 23, 2010

4 November/December 2010

Audio Tour Grand OpeningOctober 13th, 2010

November/December 2010 5

the hours they have spent with us, so I thank thefollowing personally for all they have done for us in2010: Gustie Bell, AnneBlecksmith, Alan Berta, CalDrake, Larry Fugate, ValerieGranados, Beth Guynn, TerryLavell, Lotus Leong, Skip Levi,Nick Lucero, Teresa Mesquit, JoeMontes De Oca, Margie Regan,Joan Renner, Keith Ricks, AngieRoman, Adrian Soler, JimTarazon, Gerry Turner and JudithWeinsten.

As we transition to 2011, wewill be putting the finishingtouches on some long-termprojects. Early in the year, lookfor the unveiling of the SLAexhibit. There will be a ticketedVIP event for those interested inan early look at our newest exhibit. Details will beavailable on the LAPHS website shortly after thestart of the year. A little later in the year we willcomplete the final phases of the conservation ofthe portraits of officers killed in the line of duty. Weexpect to return surrogates of these images to theDepartment early in the year. Planning for someother interesting and unique projects for the year is

underway. As we get closer to rolling these out, wewill cover each in more detail.

With the close of the year,Chairman Greg Meyer concludeshis tenure of nearly three years atthe LAPHS helm. Greg leaves hispost with the Historical Societypresented more professionallythan any time in our short history.There are now more, and moreprofessional exhibits than everbefore. Less visible are theinternal improvements that haveoccurred on his watch. We thankGreg for his dedication andleadership. Greg will besucceeded by Deputy Chief TerryHara, who has been a long-serving LAPHS Director. We areall looking forward to his greater

involvement and expert guidance.I join each of these talented professionals in

extending our thanks to each of you for yoursupport during this past year. We also send alongour best wishes for a happy and healthy holidayseason.

What’s Happeningcontinued from page 2

Looking ahead to 2011, Looking back to 1911 continued from page 1

Besides its narrative history, this importantdocument allows readers to satisfy their curiosityfor comparison. These pages tell that the LAPD of1911 consisted of 505 members. A century later,that number hovers around 13,000. Today, thereare far more than a handful of automobiles andhundreds more motorcycles, too. There was nosquadron of airships, nor a fleet of armoredvehicles. The badge of the era was short lived, but

the history of the Department lives on in thisdocument and the others we collect and preserveat the Historical Society. And although ourarchives may have their own dark corners andblind alleys we manage to keep our holdingssecure without a pair of Russian and Germantrained hounds.

Los Angeles Police Historical Society6045 York BoulevardLos Angeles, CA 90042-3503

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