Death Knell for the Ambassador

The clock is ticking on Wilshire Blvd., as the L.A. school board voted 4-3 to adopt Supt. Roy Romer's plan to demolish most of the legendary Ambassador Hotel.

The L.A. Times reports:

Under the plan, which was one of five being considered by the board, the Los Angeles Unified School District would preserve the hotel's arcade of stores, a coffee shop designed by architect Paul Williams and the historic Cocoanut Grove nightclub while razing most of the hotel, including its lobby, hotel rooms and adjacent bungalows.

The board's decision ends one chapter in the life of the hotel that has played a significant role in the history of Los Angeles and represents one of the last pieces of open space along the densely packed Wilshire Corridor.

The school district has fought to gain control of the hotel site for almost 15 years as a way to ease overcrowding in neighboring schools.

At the meeting Tuesday, board members clashed over how to best deal with the historic aspects of the hotel while creating more classroom space. The three board members who opposed the superintendent's proposal were Mike Lansing, Jon Lauritzen and David Tokofsky.

During a lengthy public hearing, more than 30 speakers — including civil rights leader Dolores Huerta; Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles); Kennedy's son, Maxwell Kennedy; and a host of community leaders, activists and concerned citizens — made poignant, sometimes tearful requests to alternately preserve the hotel, tear it down, or find a compromise.

Ken Bernstein, the director of preservation for the Los Angeles Conservancy, told board members that city residents "would surely never forget the demolition of the Ambassador." Nor, he added, would they forget "the elected officials who sent in the wrecking ball."

Conservancy officials said that the group's board will meet in the next few weeks to decide whether to take legal action against the district.

LA Observed has full coverage here.

Kennedy Cop-Out

The Kennedy family has no interest in helping save the historic Ambassador Hotel, according to stories in today's L.A. Times and Daily News.

The clan's position helps the cause of superintendant Roy Romer, who is pushing a compromise plan that saves some of the hotel -- including the hotel pantry where Robert Kennedy was assassinated -- but replaces most of the landmark structure with a new school building.

According to the papers, the LAUSD board members were already aware of the Kennedy family position: In an interview Thursday, Romer said the "feelings of the Kennedys are very important to me. I have thought about that before, and I will continue to think about it."

But Romer added that his job was to find a plan that would pass board muster, avoid lawsuits and get a school built while still acknowledging the historic value of the site.

"I know the community is divided, and I have tried to find a compromise," Romer said. "I have got to get this school built, because the children are going to be hurt if I don't."

Saving the Ambassador

Urgent message from the Los Angeles Conservancy:

As the Los Angeles Conservancy's Director of Preservation Issues, I wanted to express my heartfelt thanks to you for your past work and letter-writing on behalf of preserving the Ambassador Hotel from demolition, and to ask you to do everything you can to be present at tomorrow's crucial hearing on the fate of the Ambassador. Despite LAUSD staff's proposal to demolish all of the hotel structures except for the Cocoanut Grove, this plan is not a "done deal": as Los Angeles-area residents, we need to make clear that we simply won't stand for demolition of this important historic site.

This Tuesday (September 28th) at 4:30 p.m., Board of Education members will begin discussing the Ambassador issue: it's therefore critical that a large turnout from the public convincingly show them that Los Angeles does care about its history. In two weeks, on October 12, the L.A. Board of Education will take its final vote on whether to endorse LAUSD's plan or to reconsider reusing the hotel as part of a new educational campus. Since this Tuesday's meeting is the last scheduled discussion before the vote, NOW IS THE TIME to show your support for preserving the Ambassador!

The Los Angeles Conservancy and the citywide A+ Coalition therefore need you to attend these two key public hearings to support the meaningful preservation of the Ambassador Hotel as the centerpiece of a much-needed new school:

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
4:30 pm
Board of Education Headquarters
333 S. Beaudry Avenue, 1st Floor
Downtown Los Angeles

AND

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12
3:30 pm
Board of Education Headquarters
333 S. Beaudry Avenue, 1st Floor
Downtown Los Angeles

Located just west of the Harbor (110) Freeway downtown at 3rd Street. Limited street parking available; paid parking available in lots at 3rd Street and Boylston.

To speak at either hearing, you must sign up by calling the Board office at (213) 241-7002. Because the major public hearing on the Ambassador was held last week, it's very possible that the limited speaker slots for this week's hearing will already be taken. Also, if you spoke at the hearing on September 23, you cannot speak again. But YOU DON'T NEED TO SPEAK TO MAKE AN IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE. The Board needs to see as many people as possible standing in support of preserving the hotel in order to understand that the public cares about this issue: if supporters of the Ambassador don't show up, the hotel truly will be "history". If you work during the day, come after work. If you have child care issues, know that kids are welcome at Board of Education meetings. And, please bring your friends and colleagues who care about preserving Los Angeles' history, and pass this message along to others.

If you have questions about either hearing, please call the L.A. Conservancy at (213) 623-2489. For more details about the Ambassador Hotel issue, including a fuller action alert with more information about LAUSD's plans, please visit www.laconservancy.org.

Thanks for your support!

Ambassador Update

LAUSD supt. Roy Romer unveiled on Saturday his plans for the Ambassador hotel site... and, as the L.A. Times notes, although it saves some portions of the hotel, most will be demolished.

This was what the LA Conservancy and fans of the old, historically significant hotel were afraid of.

First, the good news: Portions of the Embassy Ballroom, where presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy gave his last speech in 1968 before he was mortally wounded in a hotel kitchen pantry nearby, would be saved and reinstalled in a library elsewhere on the property.

The Cocoanut Grove nightclub, where movie stars mingled and Hollywood's brightest stars performed, would be restored to its original Moorish design, abandoned years ago. It would become the school's main auditorium.

Most of the arcade of shops directly beneath it would be kept; the Paul Williams-designed coffee shop, among the more significant architectural elements of the property, would be preserved as a teachers lounge, and other shops would serve as the entrance to a middle and upper school cafeteria.

But, on the other hand, the view of the hotel will be fake: LAUSD wants to demolish the structure and create a new facade that duplicates the look of the six-story hotel.

Also, the bungalows will be demolished (although even the Conservancy compromised on that, admitting that they couldn't save everything) and the hotel's grand lobby will be gone.

The Board of Education will vote on the proposal in the next month or so. If its members approve and there are no legal impediments, officials said, the kindergarten-through-third-grade portion of the school could open as early as 2008, and the rest a year later...

But the plan, which will be formally unveiled this week, is already generating criticism.

Ken Bernstein, director of preservation issues for the Los Angeles Conservancy, which has pushed the district to save most of the hotel, called the plan "an amputation of the Ambassador."

He likened it to Disney's artificial re-creations of history at its theme parks. "We all love Disneyland," Bernstein said, "but we'd rather not learn how to read and write there."

Down to the Wire

The battle over the fate of the Ambassador Hotel heats up next week, as LAUSD superintendant Ray Romer is expected to announce the school district's plans for the site.

Hoping to sway the school board vote, the L.A. Conservancy announced Friday that the site could be eligible for as much as $39.4 million in federal tax credits, which would help bridge the gap between the price tag of a new structure (between $286 mill and $293 mill) and rehabbing the existing, historic structue (between $326 mill and $381 mill).

Writes the L.A. Times: The school district is expected to announce its plan next week for turning the Ambassador into a 4,200-student school and community park. That long-awaited decision comes after years of debate and behind-the-scenes negotiations over the fate of the historic hotel where Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was shot, movie stars mingled and presidents slept.

The Ambassador sits on a vast swath of land, almost 23 acres, in an area of town where open space is scarce and the population is dense. Los Angeles Unified School District officials estimate that 3,800 students are bused from the neighborhood each day because the schools nearby are too crowded.

But the Ambassador also is one of the last intact vestiges of old L.A., an empress dowager of a hotel that once drew celebrities, politicians and foreign leaders through its doors. It closed in 1989.

The hotel, said Linda Dishman, executive director of the Los Angeles Conservancy, "is one of Los Angeles' defining historical sites."

For that reason, as well as for its architectural significance, the Myron Hunt-designed hotel qualifies for federal tax credits, she said.
Friday's announcement, just a few days before Supt. Roy Romer will announce his choice among five proposals for the reuse of the site, was meant in part to pressure the Los Angeles Board of Education, which will vote on the proposals soon after.

Dishman said she believed Romer's choice will be to destroy "all but a handful of pieces of the original hotel." The tax credits, said Ken Bernstein, director of preservation issues at the conservancy, represented a challenge to the district to rehabilitate the site.

Free Bungalows!

While the LA Unified School District still ponders the fate of the Ambassador Hotel, the property's huge two-story bungalows -- once the home-away-from-home for actors, rock stars and dignitaries -- have already been marked for demolition.

The L.A. Conservancy, focused on saving the main hotel building, has regretfully decided to take a loss on the bungalows, which LAUSD wants to clear to make room for more school land.

Still, there's a chance the buildings can still be saved. According to the L.A. Times, The district has offered to give them away to anyone who will move them. But so far, no takers have come forward, although four of the buildings were designed by Myron Hunt and two by Paul Williams, both architects of note.

The catch?

The buildings, which range from 8,400 square feet to 61,000 square feet, are empty, asbestos-riddled and showing their age, some dating to the 1920s... Anyone who agrees to take the bungalows faces some hefty, though still unknown, moving bills. The bungalows would have to be removed from foundations, carved up for transportation and then reassembled.

Only one potential taker has expressed interest so far -- but he dropped out after learning what it would take to move the properties.

Save the Ambassador

It feels as if momentum may be turning against preservation of the Ambassador Hotel -- which makes it more important than ever to contact the Board of Education and urge L.A. Unified to save the historic building.

The Downtown News reports this week that a community group that calls itself RFK-12 is urging LAUSD to stop dragging its feet and start building a new high school on the site.

And as I mentioned yesterday, it's still questionable how committed LAUSD really is to finding a way to convert the historic site into a high school (rather than just tearing the whole thing down and building a new structure, much like they're doing at the old Metromedia Square/Fox TV site). "Barbie Loves L.A." author Greg LaVoi told us how the school district initially didn't want him shooting pictures of the Ambassador -- because he was planning to portray the building in its original form as a grand hotel. (They wanted him to shoot it as a school; they later gave him permission.)

On the plus side, a group of community and entertainment figures have finally come together and formed the "A+ Coalition" to fight the potential demolition of the site.

Why is it so important to save this building? And why are we so concerned here at Franklin Avenue? Read the L.A. Conservancy's tip sheet.

Also, here's a great tribute site filled with info, trivia and pictures about the Ambassador.

And, of course, here are the shots Maria and I took inside the Ambassador when we got a chance to lurk around the old hotel last year. (Link broken)

LAUSD is now expected to make its final decision on the fate of the building in a few weeks. Again, if you haven't yet, send in a letter to the Board of Education.

Book 'Em

Maria and I managed to make it to the annual Los Angeles Times Book Festival this Sunday right before it closed.

Making our way to UCLA, we parked in the Ralphs/Best Buy/Longs parking lot and hoofed it to campus, immediately heading for the Angel City Press booth.

As far as books on pop culture and local Los Angeles history goes, we're both huge fans of the Angel City Press catalog. (Angel City puts it this way on their website: Drenched in nostalgia yet undeniably cool, each Angel City Press book is luxuriously illustrated and showcases the modern design concepts of California's top graphic artists.)

Sitting at the booth was author Greg LaVoi, signing copies of his book "Barbie Loves L.A." We quickly picked up a copy and had Greg sign it.

If you haven't seen it, or any of its writeups in the L.A. Times and Los Angeles magazine, the book is a visual treat for people (like us) obsessed with L.A.'s classic landmarks.

LaVoi, an Emmy-nominated costume designer, took vintage Barbie dolls, dressed them to the period, and, via some amazing work in creating visual perception with photography, places her in front of, and interacting with, L.A. sites.

That includes shots of 1950s Barbie shopping at Bullock's Wilshire... filling up gas at the vintage 76 station in Beverly Hills... catching a flight in front of LAX's Theme Building... Grabbing a bite in front of Perino's... and plenty more.

LaVoi said he had no problem getting permission to use the landmarks... except the Ambassador Hotel. LaVoi eventually was able to shoot Barbie standing in front of a microphone outside the Cocoanut Grove... but only after twisting the L.A. Unified School District's arm. LAUSD didn't want the Ambassador portrayed as the historical hotel it is... nope, the school board wanted the Ambassador portrayed as a school. The LAUSD eventually relented when LaVoi threatened to tell his story to the L.A. Times.

Yup, L.A. Conservancy, that's the mindset we're up against in trying to save that building.

Meanwhile, LaVoi said he's now scouting locations in New York for a sequel. He hopes to shoot "Barbie Loves N.Y." later this year.

Last Dance At Perino's

Maria soaks in the Perino's vibe at one of the legendary Hollywood haunt's booths

Maria and I caught the closing performance Sunday night of the Collage Dance Theatre's "A Hunger Artist," which also doubled as the swan song for the soon-to-be demolished Perino's restaurant.

It was our second time at a Collage show; we'd attended the troupe's performance ("Sleeping with the Ambassador") at the endangered Ambassador Hotel last summer. Like then, our main goal is to check out classic Los Angeles locales before they're sadly demolished... and the Perino's visit had an even more urgent tone to it: The building will be torn down very soon in favor of apartments. Egad.

(Adding insult to injury, Carey + Kutay Development Group -- which is overseeing the Perino's demolition and construction of the future apartment complex -- continues to capitalize on the mystique and lore of Perino's. Carey + Kutay was a sponsor of the Collage event, and owns the website perinos.net -- which touts the site's history and its importance in Hollywood culture, while in the same breath announces its destruction and auction of remaining assets.)

Collage artistic director Heidi Duckler conceived and created the dance program along with Merridawn Duckler. The contemporary dance troupe utilized Perino's ballroom, bar, dining room and kitchen to interpret Franz Kafka's "A Hunger Artist."

Like the Ambassador show, Collage also incorporated some acting and singing in the mix, particularly in the dining room, where the performers rotated from table to table -- some twisting and turning on chairs, others performing magic tricks and still others, in character, interacting with the crowd. It was all meant to tell Kafka's story of an artist who decides to fast and ultimately doesn't stop -- because he never found anything he wanted to eat.

The show had its moments -- and the athletic abilities of several dancers were nothing short of awe-inspiring. Think dance with acrobatics thrown in.

But ultimately, it was a much smaller event than the Ambassador show. Collage stuck to just four rooms -- whereas, at the Ambassador, the audience saw at least seven different performances in varied locations.

Obviously, Perino's is no match for the expanse of the Ambassador. But "A Hunger Artist" could have climbed upstairs, where a sitting room and powder area would have added one more canvas to the "Hunger Artist" pallette.

Nonetheless, the show had its moments -- we were particularly impressed by the athletic moves of Marissa Labog, while John Pleshette was enjoyable as the Perino's maitre'd. Overall, the cast was top-notch and the dancers amazing.

Unfortunately, it's too late to save Perino's. But it's not too late to save the Ambassador. We sat in a booth next to a member of the Los Angeles Conservancy, who urged us to write letters to the LAUSD school board urging them to save the old hotel. This next month or two is critical; go to the L.A. Conservancy website for more info.

Check out pics from our night at Perino's:

Ambassador Update

According to the Los Angeles Conservancy, the Los Angeles Unified School District's Board of Education may determine the fate of Wilshire Blvd.'s historic Ambassador Hotel by April.

The board was originally supposed to make its decision last fall on whether to raze the site and build a completely new high school, or convert the structure into a school. The Conservancy still has several suggested alternatives to demolishing the Ambassador -- once Los Angeles' most luxurious hotel, and the historical site of Robert Kennedy's assassination.

A handful of special interest groups -- including the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF), the Cesar Chavez Foundation, and the Central American Resource Network (CARECEN) -- have come out in support of demolition, complicating the matter. But the Conservancy believes a compromise can still be struck with the LAUSD to keep the basic shell of the Ambassador.

(Shut down in the mid-1980s, it's virtually impossible to see the Ambassador upclose unless you happen to be on a movie or TV shoot there. But Maria and I got to sneak around and take several pics last year.)

Meanwhile, the Conservancy also alerts the public to a new Mexican-American cultural heritage area the County of Los Angeles plans to build near Olvera Street, within the El Pueblo de Los Angeles National Historic District. (Close to where Maria and I got married.)

The cultural area sounds like a good idea, except for one problem: According to the Conservancy, "The proposed project would involve the demolition of two of the 27 contributing structures to the El Pueblo district: the Vickrey-Brunswig Building, built in 1888, and the Brunswig Annex, built in 1897. The project would retain a third historic structure: the 1883 Plaza House. These structures are located on the west side of the 500 block of North Main Street, across from the El Pueblo structures that the City of Los Angeles has recently restored."

Los Angeles has few structures left that pre-date 1900. It would be a shame to lose two of them.

Perino While You Can

L.A. Observed reports that the Collage Dance Theatre is
considering staging a performance at the soon-to-be demolished Perino's restaurant.

Collage performs in unusual and historic sites around the city; Maria and I attended the group's last performance, "Sleeping with the Ambassador" -- mostly to get an inside look at the amazing, abandoned hotel.

But the performance itself was incredible as well. Here's hoping they pull it off before the restaurant -- once the haunt of 1940s and 1950s Hollywood royalty -- makes way for apartments. I've had the chance to explore Perino's, thanks to a Television Critics Assn. party Fox threw there a few years ago. It's a time warp: The booths are still in place and little has changed since its heyday.

This could be a pretty sad year for historic Wilshire Boulevard: Besides the end of Perino's, the fate of the Ambassador Hotel will likely be determined this year. And my gut tells me we're not going to like the School Board's decision.