Ambassador Cam #32
Turns out the original Ambassador Hotel sign, which graced the hotel's automobile entrance upon its 1921 opening, has been trapped inside the hotel's own hideous, 1970s-era concrete silo. Chipping away at that old exterior, workers found the long-buried original sign inside;
You can easily make out the letters that spell "Ambassador Hotel."
How the entrance sign looked in the Ambassador's early days. (The words "Ambassador Hotel" have not yet been added to the post in this classic postcard image.)
One more pic from Friday.
(Thanks to reader Kathy for the shots -- by the time I got to the Ambassador on Friday, it was too dark to get decent pics.)
You can easily make out the letters that spell "Ambassador Hotel."
How the entrance sign looked in the Ambassador's early days. (The words "Ambassador Hotel" have not yet been added to the post in this classic postcard image.)
One more pic from Friday.
(Thanks to reader Kathy for the shots -- by the time I got to the Ambassador on Friday, it was too dark to get decent pics.)
posted by Mike at 2:13 AM
5 Comments:
very nice treat for us that only knew the hotel from the 70's on. I only wish the hotel would have been saved and other gems like this could have been found..
This entrance was NOT present at the 1921 opening. I think this entrance was added in 1936 or '37, the same time as the famous Grove Casino Level entrance with the clock, by the same Eisner/Walker architectural team. Remember that for quite some time, that corner of the property housed bungalows, which were later moved to their final location on the east side of the property to make room for the auto entrance in the late 30s. The lettering was not added until sometime after that, as I have photos of the hotel's entrance from the 40s which don't have the lettering. Also, note at the bottom how it says "HOTEL" underneath "AMBASSADOR." I have several photos that show the AMBASSADOR but no HOTEL, so that was added even later. Some of the holes in the pylon, by the way, are the result of a large, 60s style sign which was a set of letters spelling out AMBASSADOR vertically and hung out over the pylon, visible from much farther down Wilshire. I have a 60s postcard which doesn't show the hotel but shows that chunk of Wilshire and you can see the large, illuminated letters sticking out, attached to the pylon.
Bob-
it would be great if you could submit those photos that you have!
I can send them to the folks who run this site and they can post them as they see fit.
Good Job!
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