The Black Dahlia
Elizabeth Short’s
HOLLYWOOD
Elizabeth Short
July 29, 1924 — January 15, 1947
By Allan R. Ellenberger
Today would be the 84th birthday of Elizabeth Short, best known as “The Black Dahlia.” Her unsolved murder is still a point of interest and curiosity to people. Short spent most of the last five months of her life living in Hollywood at the following places:
BREEVORT HOTEL6326 Lexington Avenue
Short stayed at the Brevoort Hotel with one-time boyfriend, Gordon Fickling from August 20 to August 27, 1946.
|
_____________________________
|
HAWTHORN HOTEL —1611 N. Orange Drive [site]
On August 28, Short stayed with friends Lynn Martin and Marjorie Graham at the Hawthorn Hotel which was located on Orange, one block south of the Roosevelt Hotel. The Hawthorn was razed many years ago; a huge apartment complex now stands on the block. |
_____________________________
MARK HANSEN residence6024 Carlos Avenue [site]
Short, Marjorie and another friend, Ann Toth, moved into Mark Hansen’s bungalow, which was located across from the Hollywood First Presbyterian Church at Gower and Carlos. She stayed there from October 1 to October 9, and again from October 23 through November 13, 1946. Hansen was a successful businessman and part-owner of the Florentine Gardens, which was only a few blocks from here. Hansen was briefly a suspect in Short’s muder. The site of Hansen’s bungalow is now a parking lot for the church. |
|
_________________________
|
GUARDIAN ARMS APARTMENTS5217 Hollywood Blvd.Room 726
Room 726 at the Guardian Arms was Short’s residence from October 10 though October 22, 1946. She lived there with her friend Marjorie, and two men, Bill Robinson and Marvin Margolis. Marjorie and the two men slept in the bed while Short slept on the floor. Ann Toth later told police: “This Bill Robinson tried to take advantage of her (Short) once and he slapped her in the face and threw her out of the car. She came home crying about that. I don’t think anyone else tried anything.”
|
___________________________
THE CHANCELLOR APARTMENTS1842 N. Cherokee AvenueRoom 501
When Short moved from Hansen’s bungalow for the last time (November 13), she moved to the Chancellor and shared cramped quarters in room 501 (on the top floor) with eight roommates: Linda Rohr, Sherryl Maylond, Cheryll Haughlamb, Beverly Don’e, Pat Goff, Marion Schmidt, Dorothy Saffrom and Mary Louise Pappe. After Short’s death, the Chancellor’s landlady, Juanita Ringo, told authorities: “She came here for a room last November 13. That’s a bad day, isn’t it? She wasn’t sociable like the other girls who lived in apartment 501 with her — more the sophisticated type.” Elizabeth Short moved out of the Chancellor on December 6, 1946.
|
|
_________________________
During the time that Elizabeth Short lived in Hollywood, she frequented many of the area’s restaurants and night spots, including the following: (click on images to enlarge)
BOARDNER’S
1652 N. Cherokee Avenue
TOM BRENNEMAN’S [site]
1623 N. Vine Street
FLORENTINE GARDENS
5955 Hollywood Boulevard
______________________________