Posted by Jeff (12.80.9.105) on July 21, 2001 at 20:32:09:
In Reply to: Visit the hotel and you'll feel it too posted by Axel on July 21, 2001 at 20:30:17:
Just a follow up to Heather and Axel actually.
I think with the emphasis on the almighty dollar it is believed that every inch of space owned is an inch if space that needs to be earning dough. Macy's (Bullock's) Pasadena removed their fountain and banquette seating in their rotunda and replaced it with cosmetics for precisely that purpose to which they freely admit to. The area HAD character now it has Clinique. I am in love with the whole Wilshire area between Western and MacArthur Park (and Yes, I am even a Westsider and I know the area) I am there almost daily-I am fascinated by the history and the ambience of those neighborhoods as I am fascinated by the history of Los Angeles. Eyes need to be opened to the uniqueness of the area and that The Ambassador and its grounds are the heart of it and that it needs to be revived. Heather and Axel are correct when they state that the hotel even in its current state is magical and alive. Although its current state is depressing with its large holes of missing plaster and vines crawling up the east garden walls of the hotel-along Catalina & 7th (not as a gardening technique but one of neglect) and its current hazy brown lawns. The place is still majestic, I am positive that the current owners only purchased it with the dollar signs dancing in their eyes of what they will receive when it is demolished and 7th Street is annexed through the Ambassador and their deep pockets are filled with tax-payer money from the LAUSD for the school. Indeed they are afraid to let people experience it. They are actively letting the building and grounds go to hell so people will not want to experience it or even stop to look due to its current state. They own very valuable land that is worth even more subdivided and annexed. Although then the ambience of the area would then be gone. Sentiment is a very powerful tool to which they are I am sure quite aware. The hotel would be saved without a doubt if enough people got involved. The Ambassador and it grounds would be re-welcomed by the entire city (world) and would be a boom to the entire neighborhood especially with the number of jobs it would create. I lived in the neighborhood when it closed-the neighborhood stunk then (1989) but lately I see fresh paint jobs neglected neon re-lit hedges trimmed and almost no graffiti now-all that comes from pride and we as a city need to show we take pride in our heritage and our cultural landmarks. The entire plot of The Ambassador needs to be restored without compromise. It is a resort hotel that sits on its plot of land recalling the charm of an Italian Villa-if only the building is saved and structures are allowed to go up along Wilshire what is a resort hotel without its resort?
Posted by Jeff (216.249.78.247) on July 18, 2001 at 18:26:06