TSBD occupants

[Pat Speer]

Steve Thomas has posted some info from a reverse phone directory on another thread. (Thanks, Steve) In looking at it, I realized there were more occupants in the TSBD than I'd previously believed. Does anyone know if there's a map of the TSBD anywhere in the Warren Report, explaining where each company's offices were located?

[William Kelly]

Steve Thomas has posted some info from a reverse phone directory on another thread. (Thanks, Steve) In looking at it, I realized there were more occupants in the TSBD than I'd previously believed. Does anyone know if there's a map of the TSBD anywhere in the Warren Report, explaining where each company's offices were located?

Pat,

There is a good map of the first, second and sixth floors of the TSBD in the WC Exhibits. I think it is also part of the Report.

I just ran past it a few weeks ago. Will try to find it again.

Geeze, where's Gary Mack when you need him?

BK

[Pat Speer]

Steve Thomas has posted some info from a reverse phone directory on another thread. (Thanks, Steve) In looking at it, I realized there were more occupants in the TSBD than I'd previously believed. Does anyone know if there's a map of the TSBD anywhere in the Warren Report, explaining where each company's offices were located?

Pat,

There is a good map of the first, second and sixth floors of the TSBD in the WC Exhibits. I think it is also part of the Report.

I just ran past it a few weeks ago. Will try to find it again.

Geeze, where's Gary Mack when you need him?

BK

Bill, the WC printed the interior maps of a few of the floors. These were used to help show Oswald's movements. What I was curious about was if there was a map of the offices, showing which company was behind each window, etc. Someone asked me about the background of one of the publishing firms, and I realized I had no idea which window corresponded to the offices of this firm. It's probably nothing. We do know that there were no offices above the fourth floor.

[John Dolva]

This brings to mind a curious Dallas arson a saturday night Jan '64 of a "golden pheasant restaurant" above which was a 'blueprint' company. Though why anyone would want to destroy blueprints in this context evades me. Just logging the note in case something else comes up

Edited August 12, 2006 by John Dolva

[James Richards]

This brings to mind a curious Dallas arson a saturday night Jan '64 of a "golden pheasant restaurant" above which was a 'blueprint' company. Though why anyone would want to destroy blueprints in this context evades me. Just logging the note in case something else comes up

John,

The 'blueprint' company was the Dallas Blueprint Co.

The guy who owned the restaurant was Charles D. Bryant. He was charged with arson but eventually aquitted. It sure was a strange case as two workers testified that in the months leading up to the fire, Bryant had offered them money to burn the establishment down.

I did find some interesting connections to the Dallas Blueprint Co. but will have to go through my notes to find them.

James

[John Dolva]

"This brings to mind a curious Dallas arson a saturday night Jan '64 of a "golden pheasant restaurant" "

"The guy who owned the restaurant was Charles D. Bryant. He was charged with arson but eventually aquitted. It sure was a strange case as two workers testified that in the months leading up to the fire, Bryant had offered them money to burn the establishment down."

the golden pheasant restaurant. it was on commerce north side and was just east of the magnolia bldg.

a curiosity regarding a letter that the golden pheasant restaurant had which caused Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT some strife...

http://jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/demohr_j.htm

The testimony of Jeanne De Mohrenschildt was taken at 4:45 p.m. on April 23, 1964, at 200 Maryland Avenue NE., Washington, D.C., by Mr. Albert E. Jenner, Jr., assistant counsel of the President's Commission

Mr. JENNER. And you eventually were divorced from your first husband?

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.

Mr. JENNER. He retained the name Robert LeGon?

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.

Mr. JENNER. He didn't change his name back to Bogoiavlensky?

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. No.

By the way, do you know he is in a rest home?

Mr. JENNER. Yes; I do.

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. There was a lot of unpleasantness around in that time, because he was already going off completely.

Mr. JENNER. And you were divorced from him in the summer of 1959?

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Oh, no, no; before that. It was 1957, spring of 1957. Yes; it was in the spring of 1957.

I believe it was first of May or something. I don't remember exactly. But it is pretty close.

Mr. JENNER. And you married your present husband, George De Mohrenschildt, in the summer of 1959?

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. 1959, yes; in June, towards the end of June.

Mr. JENNER. And your daughter who was born to you in New York City----

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. In Manhattan Hospital.

Mr. JENNER. She was--her given name was----

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Jeanne Elinor LeGon.

Mr. JENNER. And she changed her name to Christiana?

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; her father did it. She was just a youngster. You know what happened to him mentally. He went completely--I don't know, maybe when people go crazy, lots of things begin to bother them, maybe his conscience was bothering him because he dropped his father's name or something. But for a particular reason he didn't take it himself, but he put it--insisted that my daughter will take the name.

Mr. JENNER. What name?

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Bogoiavlensky--and drop the LeGon. And she was baptized--she was brought up as Episcopalian. I never baptized her, because I wanted her to choose her own religion when she grew up. I know too many people who have too many difficulties later when they find out they want something else. By the time she was baptized she liked the name Christiana and she took that name. And he changed her name to Bogoiavlensky again. So it was very, very unpleasant and horrible, what the poor fellow didn't do.

Mr. JENNER. Did he cause you some difficulty with respect to accusing you of being a Communist?

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. I don't know if you have a letter, I wish I would have a letter what he did. You see I had charge accounts throughout the country, because I was making very good money. Lord and Taylor, Saks, all the biggest restaurants everywhere. And when that happened, I actually told him that is the end, I am divorcing you, and that is it, and there will be no change back, nothing at all, he sent out letters to all of these places, to all the restaurants, all the department stores, including Niemans, and I believe Niemans showed me the letter, and there was a Golden Pheasant Restaurant--they showed me the letter--that so and so, and he expressed in a horrible way that Eugenia Fomenko Bogoiavlensky, my ex-wife, she is--almost putting that I am a spy, and God knows what in it, and that he is not responsible for my debts, for my accounts.

It was 1957, and since 1941 I was the one that made all the money in the family. I was the one making all these things, bringing up my child. So that was horrible. That is not all. He sent letters, and he signed "FBI"--make believe they are from the FBI. He sent to all my people in New York, firms that I work with, that also I am a spy or something, this and that, horrible.

And I was in Europe that summer. And a friend of mine came over and said "What is the matter with you?" She said, "What happened to you? The FBI are looking for you."

I said, "Are you kidding me?"

She said, "No ;" one of the manufacturers showed her the letter.

I said, "For God sakes, this is ridiculous, I never heard of such a thing.

So when I come back to New York I right away went to see all of them.

They said, some were laughing about it. But some I know they had a little something behind their heads.

Mr. JENNER. They were worried?

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; even a thing like that, a prank like that, already set people thinking. And do you know that I could not get a job in New York, just because of that? And, fortunately, being in Texas, I switched to designing dresses and sportswear, and I had two jobs in no time in that market.

And I was able to get--I lost my job in Texas while I was in Europe because of that.

He sent that to my employer.

I never told that--I don't know if my present husband knows it--because that would really kill him, a thing like that.

But it was eventually straightened out. But I was actually out, I couldn't get a job, my daughter had to go to the university, I had to send her money. I had nothing.

EDIT:: here's another curious cincidence to do with the Golden Pheasant and the Dallas Bluprint Co above it

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. The first name was Valentin, and the second one was Bob--they called him Bob. So which one is right, I don't know. But I liked Bob better.

Mr. JENNER. What was his last name?

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. His last name was Bogoiavlensky.

Mr. JENNER. And you were married when?

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. I believe we were married in 1932, in the fall.

Mr. JENNER. In what business or profession was your husband engaged when you were married?

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Well, at the time when we were married, he was--we were both working, making designs and constructions--making plans and building houses together.

Mr. JENNER. Were you associated in business?

Mrs. De MOHRENSCHILDT. It wasn't exactly business. I don't know--it is not done like it is done in the United States. We just knew how to build houses, we knew all the measurements and everything, and we had the project---somebody wanted a house of such and such dimensions, we would design it, make all the blueprints, and then we had worked with contractors and had the building constructed. And then I believe he was also working in the--the Japanese were building their airport.

What to make of all this?

Edited August 23, 2006 by John Dolva

[John Dolva]

17 February 1964

1417 Commerce st, Dallas, across from the Baker Hotel.

"We've fought bigger fires but this one was different." Fire Investigator Capt. E. A. Emerson.

The fire started in the basement of the restaurant and quickly spread, wiped out the Golden Pheasant Restaurant, the Dallas Blueprint Co. on the two floors above it and the Melody Shop, a record store next door. and caused damages estimated at $150,000..

The first alarm was sounded at 2:33 a.m. Sunday. A second alarm was sounded at 2:58 a.m., a third at 3:16 a.m., a fourth at 3:41 a.m. and a fifth at 3:55 a.m

No flames were visible from the outside on the fire fighters arrival. Smoke was pouring from the lower part of the building.

The firemen entered the Restaurant wearing masks to seek the cause. A tiny hole on the first floor was discovered, revealing a mass of flames in the basement.

Four firefighters died after the floor collapsed, dropping them into the flame filled basement.

Shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday the fire was extinguished.

Most of the building and its contents lay in a heap of charred rubble in the basement.

I can't find any references to investigation results, James. Can you elaborate on this , please?

Coincidences?

The owner may have shown a copy of a letter to Mrs De Mo in the 50's which she describes as containing allegations she is a spy and stamped with a FBI identifier..

Mrs De Mo had been involved with Blueprint production (pre WWII in China) with her first husband who she says is the originator of the letter.

and

The fire occurred a few months after the assassination..

To destroy the documents which were on site? ???

[Steve Thomas]

Pat,

What I was curious about was if there was a map of the offices, showing which company was behind each window, etc.

Through a process of elimination, you might go through the WC testimony of some of the TSBD employees here:

http://jfkassassination.net/russ/wit.htm

In particular, look at Victoria Adams and Doris Burns. They were asked in which window they stood to watch the parade.

Steve Thomas

[Steve Thomas]

Pat,

What I was curious about was if there was a map of the offices, showing which company was behind each window, etc.

Through a process of elimination, you might go through the WC testimony of some of the TSBD employees here:

http://jfkassassination.net/russ/wit.htm

In particular, look at Victoria Adams and Doris Burns. They were asked in which window they stood to watch the parade.

Steve Thomas

[Robert Howard]

Pat,

What I was curious about was if there was a map of the offices, showing which company was behind each window, etc.

Through a process of elimination, you might go through the WC testimony of some of the TSBD employees here:

http://jfkassassination.net/russ/wit.htm

In particular, look at Victoria Adams and Doris Burns. They were asked in which window they stood to watch the parade.

Steve Thomas

I have never seen a map as described, but have seen a list, do you have that, it's something. I think the DPD had one, and Garrison had one.

As an aside, to this has anyone ever heard of a Restaurant/Bar called The Mikado?

Edited August 23, 2006 by Robert Howard

[James Richards]

I can't find any references to investigation results, James. Can you elaborate on this , please? (John Dolva)

John,

The official cause of the fire was said to be that a food warmer was left on which overheated and ignited a pile of rags. This conclusion was seriously doubted by the Fire Marshal.

One of the cooks who worked there, a man named Morton Smith, said that Bryant offered him $1,000 to burn the place down. Bryant said that Smith was disgruntled because he had been fired weeks earlier for making derogatory remarks about Marie Tippit and the Dallas Police Department. No other details are available there.

As to the Dallas Blueprint Co., I believe that this establishment is one that needs serious investigation. One firstly needs to look at the type of equipment that was on site and the type of work that could have been performed there. Also, one needs to look at one of the company's employees, a man named Tom Canon, who died on September 30, 1963. He was a young man and getting information on his death has been most difficult.

One also needs to look at a close associate of Canon's who had connections back to New Orleans; a man who came through the Naval Reserve Instructor's School and was with the Naval Construction Battalion. I won't offer his name just yet as my research is in its infancy.

FWIW.

James

Edited August 23, 2006 by James Richards

[John Dolva]

James, it's the difficulty of getting information that is most intriguing. The fire is on record as one of the worst in Dallas history. 750 firemen attended.

A member of the staff making derogatory comments about Marie Tippit and the Dallas Police Department

is probably unusual. The apparent lack of followups is strange. It smacks of some interference. Something must be known by someone. It's usually money and power that can influence such things. It'll be interesting to see what comes out of looking into this.

[James Richards]

James, it's the difficulty of getting information that is most intriguing. The fire is on record as one of the worst in Dallas history. 750 firemen attended.

A member of the staff making derogatory comments about Marie Tippit and the Dallas Police Department

is probably unusual. The apparent lack of followups is strange. It smacks of some interference. Something must be known by someone. It's usually money and power that can influence such things. It'll be interesting to see what comes out of looking into this.

John,

The derogatory comments about Marie Tippit seemed completely out of context here but Charles Bryant went down that road in his testimony. Being that the fire happened so close to the assassination and emotions were running high, Bryant may have been attempting to deflect attention from himself while simultaneously painting Morton Smith as someone of poor character.

The timing of the death of Dallas Blueprint Co. employee Tom Canon (September 1963), is also curious here. There is a possibilty that the Oswald backyard photos were fabricated at this location.

Pure speculation of course.

James

[John Dolva]

I spent the downtime in the state library looking for any info. not finding anything. Have you any idea of who owned the building ond or the Blueprint co? One speculative avenue of research through the De Morhenshildts took me to Chian Kai Chek and Walker, though the dates have gaps it may relate in some way. As far as I understand the Melody Shop was next to the Magnolia Building, across from the Baker Hotel, so coming at the Dallas Blueprint Co from other angles may prove fruitful. I found a postcard showing a drawing of the outside and inside of the Golden Pheasant. Quite a fancy establishment.

+ overhead view of the damage

[James Richards]

Good stuff, John.

I don't have a lot of information but it is interesting to note that the Dallas Blueprint Company was damaged by fire back in 1951. A nearby business burned down and the DBC was collateral damage.

I can tell you that during the time frame we are interested in, a man by the name of Ernest Williams was employed by the Dallas Blueprint Company as a Reproduction Photographer. I have been trying to track him down without luck. I don't even know if he is still alive.

I am hoping that he can fill in some of the gaps regarding the death of Tom Canon.

FWIW.

James

Edited August 27, 2006 by James Richards