Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles 1961
Here's a pair of neat vintage photos featuring the legendary Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, circa 1961. Designed by architect Myron Hunt, the Ambassador Hotel formally opened to the public on January 1, 1921. With its Mediterranean styling, tile floors, Italian stone fireplaces and semi-tropical courtyard, the Ambassador enchanted guests for over six decades. Later renovations by architect Paul Williams were made to the hotel in the late 1940s. It was also home to the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, Los Angeles’ premier night spot for decades; host to six Oscar ceremonies and to every United States President from Herbert Hoover to Richard Nixon. And of course it is where Robert Kennedy was assassinated in 1968.
The sign for the Cocoanut Grove is a bit hard to read, but it says, "AMBASSADOR: Cocoanut Grove: Presents The Liberace Show: Freddy Martin Orchestra", and in the middle, "Mr. Showmanship: LIBERACE".
Here's a pretty view of the gardens in front the Ambassador, with lawns and fountains, and some bungalows, where I assume all of the movie stars liked to stay. Behind the Phoenix palm we can just see the tower from the Immanuel Presbyterian Church, which still stands along Wilshire Boulevard to this day. The Ambassador was torn down in 2006.
23 comments:
Major-
Looks pretty swanky to me. And as long as "Mr. Showmanship" is appearing, I suppose I should hightail it over there... if it's not too late.
Thanks, Major.
I think I see the Dominguez Palm in that first pic; on the left. Disneyland sure looked a LOT different in the early days, didn't it.
In the last pic: Nice view of the House of the Future. As an added bonus, we see the Dominguez Palm again (in a different location, they move it around, y'know), and there's Sleeping Beauty Castle, partially hidden by the D. Palm and the alpine forest surrounding the HotF. I think I can see The Dent!
OK, so I didn't know what to say about these images, other than they look nice, so I just went goofy. Thanks for the early Disneyland pics, Major.
I wouldn't mind seeing Liberace perform in the Coconut Grove, but I hope his brother George is there, too.
JB, those aren't the Dominguez palms, those really are the Snerd palms that the Major pointed out two days ago.
Speaking of palm trees, I like the two little neon palm trees on either side of the Coconut Grove sign. And is that a little monkey, above the two "s's" in "Ambassador"? The two palm trees on the sign remind me of the signage for "The Tropicana" nightclub, in a certain 1950's sitcom. I wonder if Liberace ever performed, "The Lady In Red," "Babalu," "See-Me-Lo," or "Santiago Chile"? You know, Chile isn't "chilly," as a rule!
In the last image, the lady in the white dress with black buttons is giving off a ‘Scarlett O’Hara - GWTW Intermission’ vibe. If you aren’t a GWTW fan, never mind.
TokyoMagic! You’re in trouble.
Thanks, Major.
—Sue
We drove down Wiltshire once back in ‘94 or ‘95, looking for something I no longer recall. I think Mrs. Chuck was driving, and I remember looking out the window and being surprised to see the Ambassador right there. I said “Hey, look - the Ambassador Hotel. That’s famous for…something.” Instant research was a lot harder before the Internet, high-speed data connections, and pocket computer/camera/radios.
TM! beat me to Brother George. I respect him for that.
Thanks, Sue - now I’m going to have “Tara’s Theme” stuck in my head all day. I guess that’s better than an 11-inch iron spike, but only marginally so. [sigh] Maybe things will look better when I wake up in the morning. After all, tomorrow is another day…
Sue, but I didn't even mention, "Cielito Lindo," "Canta Guitarra," "Mama Yo Quiero," or "Cuban Pete."
I found a newspaper clipping among my dad's things, after he passed away. It was an advertisement, or "an invitation" to hear Robert Kennedy speak at the Ambassador Hotel's Coconut Grove, on June 2, 1968. The date of June 2nd kind of confuses me. After winning his primary, he gave a speech in the Ambassador's Embassy Ballroom on the evening of June 4th, and was shot in the kitchen just after midnight on June 5th. I haven't been able to find any info about him speaking in the Coconut Grove, two days earlier. I know that my dad liked Robert Kennedy. I wonder if he was thinking about going to hear him speak, or if he just came across the ad after the assassination, and then decided to hold onto it as a piece of history.
For anyone interested, here is that ad, along with a photo (from Wikipedia) of Robert Kennedy speaking in the Embassy Ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel, just minutes before he was assassinated (scroll all the way to the bottom of the post!):
Robert Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel's Coconut Grove
TM! beat me to Brother George. I respect him for that.
Chuck, well fiddle-dee-dee....THANKS!!!
TM!, in the days leading up to the California Primary on 4 June, RFK was campaigning all over California. He spent 2 Jun 1968 in the LA area, flying into Orange County Airport and speaking at Bolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove during the day. That evening, he delivered a speech at the Cocoanut Grove, which is what that clipping your dad saved was advertising. It’s too bad you don’t know if your dad actually attended the event.
Chuck, oh wow...thanks for that info! So he was there on June 2nd and then back again at the hotel, two days later. I figured that must be the case, since the ad states "June 2nd," but I never came across any info about the June 2nd date. And I know if my dad had attended this event, that he definitely would have mentioned it at some point. I was thinking he either cut it out because he was considering going, or that he cut it out "after the fact" because of what happened two days later.
Thanks again for doing that research, Chuck!
Totally cool old school LA. This was one of the greats. It was in many TV shows/movies etc. The pool area was especially cool, and had various incarnations over the years. The Lido Club with it's Egyptian Revival Building had a cute little sandy beach which I am sure the housekeeping staff loved! "The Lido Club. Feminine Conditioning" (I guess it was a boy hating women's club). The Blue Book Modeling Agency was also located here, and subsequently the pool and it's environs hosted many cheesecake photo sessions. In addition to all of the other famous people that came and went at the Ambassador, Formerly Norma Jean Dougherty was one of Blue Book models, later to succumb at another hotel a few miles down the road in the hills of Bev-er-ly. Cuban Pete also was a visitor...and actually everyone who was anyone has been photographed there...and then everything was bulldozed after a sad dereliction. There were a couple of "we promise to keep this and that"...but it all became dirt. The new school and park built there gives a nod to the original look and feel...so I suppose the TRE is not completely TRE...but if you look up Los Angeles in the dictionary, you generally see "TRE"...
Bu, this entrance structure and statue out on the street, still exist today:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/3375+Wilshire+Blvd,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90010/@34.0617369,-118.2980776,3a,67.3y,139.23h,103.92t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1soKrwnSe1AO8jfl7vX7jbBA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x80c2c77da0a0f031:0xbfe664ce79f2d302!2sBrown+Derby+Plaza!8m2!3d34.0622771!4d-118.2975168!3m4!1s0x80c2c77da6861497:0xd680686d7e891035!8m2!3d34.0619306!4d-118.2974438
Vintage View of entrance:
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5987d441e58c62df09542227/1513150245140-DDDA95PONU6L2IG3TMA2/Ambassador+Hotel+in+1939+-+from+California+Digital+Library.jpg
After some research, I've discovered that the bronze figurine at the base is a recreation, but the rest of the structure is pretty much original.
Here I am longing for 50 years ago. Not that I would have gone to any of these places, but it would be strangely comforting to know they were still there. I don't think our current generation is doing a particularly good job...of anything, really...
Sorry, kids!
A piece of Lost Los Angeles, Major.
The closest I ever got to any of this was working on that Paul Williams-designed house on La Mesa Drive in Santa Monica.
I remember hearing of the shooting in the news and seeing tv coverage.
TM, Chuck, thanks for those links and the research.
Stu, you’re right, certainly not doing a good job preserving LA.
JG
Nanook, I’m just thinking about how much that giant marquee must have cost!
JB, your comment reminded me of vintage slide-collector/entertainer Charles Phoenix, who used to give tours of downtown L.A., equating it with Disneyland. I never went on one of those tours so I can’t recall specific examples, but I remember reading about them and thinking that it was an odd/interesting idea.
TokyoMagic!, I assume that you are like me, and first heard those “brother George” jokes in Bugs Bunny cartoons? I’m sure I didn’t understand what Bugs was referring to until many years later, sort of like when someone would yell “Put out that light!”. I have a very old Coconut Grove matchbook that has palm trees and little monkey silhouettes, they look very much like the ones on that sign!
Sue, you are referring to the famous scene with Scarlet standing next to some California bungalows, of course! ;-)
Chuck, “Wiltshire”, so fancy! I passed the Ambassador many times without hardly giving it a glance, but back then I wasn’t as aware of its history or significance. In other words, I was dumb. Don’t encourage TM!, it will just make him misbehave. “Tara’s Theme” is nice, but you need to listen to some Captain and Tennille to get that song out of your head. “Muskrat Love” preferably.
TokyoMagic!, interesting that you found that clipping; did your dad live in Los Angeles at the time? Of course it is very possible that he was thinking about going to see RFK, but if I had to bet some of my worthless Bitcoin, I’ll bet you are right about him saving that clipping after the assassination had happened. Hard to say though, of course. And oh no, I have somehow missed a few posts of yours (things have been busy), I need to go through the whole thing and leave comments!!
TokyoMagic!, people don’t say “fiddle-dee-dee” enough these days. They just twerk and look at their phones.
Chuck, thank you for those links. It is always a sobering thing to have a commenter do way more research than I do!
TokyoMagic!, RFK went back to the Ambassador because they had these chicken strips with that sauce, you know the kind. “I gotta get me more of them chicken strips”, he said with his Massachusetts accent. If only they hadn’t been so delicious, history might have been very different.
Bu, you might remember those photos of Earl Carroll and his lovely showgirls, posing for some sort of publicity event at the Ambassador. See them HERE . It’s quite a thing to consider how important the Ambassador was to Los Angeles, only for it to become abandoned and forgotten. I have to wonder if it would still be with us had the RFK thing never happened, but my guess is that developers would still have gotten their hands on that prime real estate.
TokyoMagic!, hmmm, I wonder if thieves made off with the original figure at the base of that sculpture? That used to happen a lot in L.A., old bronzes were being stolen, supposedly sold for their scrap value.
Stu29573, I know what you mean, the Ambassador was probably way too fancy for me at any point in my life, but it’s always nice to have a place like that, decades old and full of history.
JB, Paul Williams designed houses? I used to love him on “Match Game” and “The Muppet Show”!
Major, see this article about Paul Williams the architect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_R._Williams
He designed over 2000 residences, including ones for Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and many others. At the time he designed the Cocoanut Grove, he would not have been allowed to go in.
JG
Tokyo!, The Snerd Palms?!?! How are we supposed to tell them apart from the Dominguez Palms?! This is all the Major's fault.
Sue, what... now we can't even mention "a certain 1950's sitcom" without getting in trouble? ;-) Maybe Tokyo! was referring to "Love That Bob" or "Leave It To Beaver". I wonder if Liberace's brother George played the conga drum?
Major, yes, that's where I first heard about "brother George", too. I can still picture the look on Bugs' face when he said it.
JG, I'm sorry that my dumb joke didn't land, I actually am very familiar with Paul R. Williams, and even read a book about him. A book! ME! Williams is a fascinating person, and a genius who had to work within unbelievable constraints.
JB, it is not easy to identify the Snerd Palms, you need to buy a "Palm-O-Matic 5000" to truly know. "Love that Bob", is that a show?? I think the "brother George" jokes are a perfect example of how Looney Tunes humor can work on several levels. For kids they are just silly, but an adult can know exactly what is being referenced.
Major, I'm sorry. I should remember you would know who he was. I wasn't familiar with anyone who would be on something called "Match Game" which I had never heard of, so I was confused. Then I thought maybe you confused my post with some other person.
Anyway, now the thread has a link to him if others are interested. He was a brilliant architect. The AIA finally saw fit to give him the award he deserved in life.
I'm sure he designed the LAX Theme building and the controversy over who did was other big-egos not willing to give up credit.
JG
Major, "Love That Bob" was on in the mid '50s, and starred Bob Cummings, along with Ann B. Davis as "Schultzie", his secretary. Actually, before it went into reruns it was called "The Bob Cummings Show".
I'm not sure I got the Liberace reference when I first saw those Bugs Bunny cartoons. But I know I got it early on; within a couple of years.
JG, you never heard of Match Game??? You musta had a very sheltered childhood. It's like you grew up on a farm or somethin'... oh, wait. ;-)
Really enjoyed seeing these. Back in the early 70s I remember there was a special shop that carried British items located at the Ambassador. I remember you could buy recordings of the British BBC program "The Goon Show" there.
In case you are interested: https://www.british-weekly.com
Try this link instead. https://www.british-weekly.com/?p=20002
Major, I swear I typed “Wilshire.” One of these days, Autocorrect - POW!!! Right in the kisser!
JG, thanks for the Paul R. Williams link. That”s somebody I want to learn more about.
JB, I had a similar experience with the “Brother George” reference - Looney Tunes, then Liberace. But I was pretty young, too - no more than seven - when it clicked. It seems like Liberace was always on TV back in the mid-‘70s.
JG, it’s OK! I was just making a dumb joke after all. Now I wish I still had that book, it makes me want to flip through it again and look at those beautiful homes that Williams designed. It is very weird that his name is sometimes connected with the LAX theme building, and sometimes not, but like you, I’d lean towards giving him credit.
JB, I had no idea Ann B. Davis was on a show prior to The Brady Bunch. I’m sure she probably had a long career and I was only aware of a tiny bit of it. As a kid I would sometimes see Liberace on TV and would wonder “What is up with this guy?”. Not in a mean way, but he was so flamboyant and “show-bizzy”, and unusual. I just didn’t get it. Hey, he made a lot of people happy and was very talented, so I don’t want to take anything away from his success.
Sunday Night, wow, that’s a great, specific memory! How many people remember that shop today? Awesome! I am very aware of The Goon Show, and its influence on so many people (including The Beatles)!
Chuck, it’s OK, I am burned by autocorrect all the time. Yes, Paul R. Williams was a fascinating man, and who doesn’t like to learn about great architecture? I don’t know if Liberace ever said, “I wish my brother George was here” (as a regular bit), or if it was entirely invented by the Termite Terrace bunch.
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