Posted by Mav (209.28.174.35) on December 03, 2001 at 17:04:09:
Ah, the memories. The Ambassador Hotel holds a special place for me not only because of its glorious past, but mostly because my father worked there. When he retired in ’82, he was deemed the longest working employee. Maybe 40 yrs. on the job.
I still carry with me old Kodak pictures that he took on the hotel grounds. I think from the early 50’s. One picture shows my dad and his mother in law (my grandmother) standing in front of the hotel, off Wilshire, under the ad sign with the names of Frankie Laine and Leighton Noble scheduled to perform. My father didn’t put the year on the pictures, so I’d love to know what exact year that it was. Another picture is taken with my parents standing outside the bungalows next to a gigantic palm tree. Another picture taken from the 5th floor looking down at the pool.
I remember he would take me on a personal tour of the hotel, introduced me to the employees. I’ll never forget the time he took me into the kitchen and told me I was standing in the spot where RFK was assassinated. I liked Christmas time, when the lobby was so elaborately decorated with reindeer and sleighs.
He would tell me about the celebrities that he knew. Nat King Cole, who treated my father with respect.. Burt Reynolds, who knew my dad by name. And many others. For some reason he disliked Sammy Davis Jr. I remember meeting other celebs myself, such as Robert Stack, Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman), Greg Evigan (BJ & and Bear), Ann Turkel and others.
I remember going to the Sun Club in the summer. I used to like the sauna. One tragic morning a woman swimmer dove in for a swim when there was an electrical short in the pool light. My dad was there when it happened and watched them take her body out of the pool.
I used to eat at the restaurant (I don’t remember the name). There was a clothing boutique across the way, can’t remember the name of that either.
When the hotel closed, there was an auction. My dad went there and got 2 pictures that hung on the walls of the Cocanut Grove. They were pictures of monkeys in trees. Unfortunately, they were stolen from his home in ’91, after he died. But one thing from the Ambassador Hotel that I do have is a dresser drawer (my dad brought it home many decades ago) made of mahogany with a marble top. It’s got to be at least 70 years old.
Now there is a debate on who should buy the property. LAUSD wants to acquire the land to turn it into a school. Beverly Hills developer Alan Casden wants to develop the land for residential purposes. (BTW, I once worked for Alan Casden in the ‘80’s).
Personally, I hope the hotel is purchased by someone who wants to preserve history. I really think if the hotel was remodeled and its buildings reinforced to code, cleaned up, the Ambassador Hotel would once again be a four-star hotel. The history is there, it should not be destroyed. There are some things that money cannot buy.