More Before and After Shots of the Ambassador Site

Theresa Inman has been chronicling the fall of the old Ambassador Hotel and the rise of the new school on the site, and periodically sending us some of her great documentation. (She also last year kindly purchased our Ambassador Hotel table, which we ultimately didn't have room for.)

Tess just sent us some great new pics she took of the school -- along with "before" shots of the old hotel's ruins. ABOVE, a pic of the hotel from the early 1950s, along with a shot of the hotel (taken from the same spot) on April 24, 2010.




A relief seen on Wilshire Blvd. -- on March 26, 2006 and then after restoration work, on April 23, 2010.





East side of the Ambassador Hotel in an undated photo; the building, in mid-demolition, in November 2005; and the East side of the new school, on April 24, 2010.




Base of the fountain, on March 26, 2006; and then, restored, on April 24, 2010.

Thanks to Tess Inman for the pics!

Ambassador Cam, #45 in a series

It's been a while since we last checked in with the old Ambassador Hotel site -- and wow, has a lot changed.

The Wilshire-adjacent sidewalk park is shaping up, the building's outer shell is nearly done, and (below) the original driveway entrance way is nearly done with its restoration.



If we're looking for a silver lining in the sad destruction of the Ambassador, we can at least look to this. Having been covered up in the 1970s by a hideous new sign (touting the hotel and the "Now Grove" concept), it's nice to have this back.

Now, of course, I wonder how long it's going to take until that statue is vandalized or stolen. So let's appreciate it while it lasts.

Meanwhile, occupancy for the new "Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools" is still set for this fall.