Monday, January 16, 2006

Ambassador Cam, #26



Believe it or not, that's all that's left of the once proud Ambassador Hotel. Pic comes from Jennifer Sharpe, who passes along this note:

After having dreamt about the Ambassador Hotel last night, i drove over there and shot this photo of the last remaining piece of it this morning. it looks like an ancient ruin, part of a fallen civilization. i just discovered your weblog and wanted to pass along this photo as a token of my wistful solidarity.

Thanks to Jennifer, who took this pic Sunday morning -- the remaining strip of hotel even smaller than when I last checked on Friday.

The final days of the Ambassador has brought out photographers, pro and amateur alike, and I've seen several of them snapping shots as I took my own "Ambassador Cam" pics. This anonymous comment at The Ambassador's Last Stand also stopped by the site today, and reports what we've suspected: That this is the week the last portion of the hotel (excepting the Cocoanut Grove) disappears:

I was taking photos at the Ambassador Hotel today (Sunday 1/15) and an administrator drove up. He said that the remaining portion of the hotel will be down "in two days". I don't know if the two days are Monday and Tuesday of the coming week or Tuesday and Wednesday, since Monday is a holiday. But the hotel's remaining structure (other than the area of the Cocoanut Grove which is being preserved) will probably be gone by Thursday!

Several photographers were present today, and the weather was fine for photography. The view of the south facade of the hotel was shocking, to say the least, as the last time I saw it at Christmas, the south facade was still intact.
The only remaining structure is a small piece of the main building separated from the Cocoanut Grove portion and standing precariously on it's own.

I think we may have to throw an Ambassador wake at the HMS Bounty in the coming weeks. Anyone else game?

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for chronicling the sad destruction of this historic landmark. Another great shot of the Ambassador is to go through Google Earth and type in "Wilshire and Catalina, Los Angeles CA". It shows the complete complex before demolition.

7:31 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm game for the wake.

9:21 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Count me in ... Although I have put off visiting the site because its just too sad to see! Poor ol Lady!

10:33 AM  
Blogger jay at almost 40 said...

I cant believe this is it..The last days of this once grand hotel we have all come to love and cherish. I hope LAUSD is proud of themselves. What do we have now to look at when we are heading down Wilshire BLvd? Nothing but sadness I guess

12:11 PM  
Blogger -K- said...

At least I was able to talk with some of my friends and co-workers about this. It may have raised the thinking of LA as having a history and an archecture (sp?) worth perserving just an iota or two.

On Saturday I posted a few rainy and sort of desolate shots on my blog.

8:20 AM  

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