The Ambassador Hotel was a landmark hotel in Los Angeles, California. Nickname: Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: State California County Los Angeles County Incorporated April 4, 1850 Government  - Type Mayor-Council  - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa  - City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo  - Governing body City Council Area  - City  498. ...

Background

The Ambassador Hotel formally opened on January 1, 1921 and was located at 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, between Catalina Street and Mariposa Avenue, in the center of Los Angeles mid-Wilshire District. Designed by Pasadena architect Myron Hunt, the Ambassador Hotel was known in the early 1920s until the late 1960s as the winter residence of numerous prominent Hollywood actors and as the site of several Academy Awards ceremonies. Perhaps as many as seven U.S. Presidents stayed at The Ambassador Hotel, from Hoover to Nixon, along with heads of state from around the world. For decades, the hotel's famed Coconut Grove nightclub hosted the biggest names in entertainment, serving as the launching point of such performers as Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby and Richard Pryor. January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for full calendar). ... Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile District, looking east toward Downtown Los Angeles Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood, looking east toward the Millionaires Mile Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Myron Hunt (February 27, 1868–May 26, 1952) was an American architect whose numerous projects include many noted landmarks in Southern California. ... ... This is a list of Academy Awards ceremonies, the year in film which they were honoring, their hosts, and their date of the ceremony. ... Herbert Clark Hoover, (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964), the 31st President of the United States (1929–1933), was a world-famous mining engineer and humanitarian administrator. ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was a jazz oriented popular singer and Academy Award-winning actor. ... Barbra Joan Streisand (born April 24, 1942 in Brooklyn) is an Academy Award-winning American singer, theatre and film actress, composer, liberal political activist, film producer and director. ... Superscript text Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an Oscar-nominated American film actress, considered by many to be one of the greatest singing stars of Hollywoods Golden Era of musical film, best known for her role as Dorothy Gale from The... Harry Lillis Bing Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor whose career lasted from 1926 until his death in 1977. ... Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American comedian, actor, and writer. ...

The Ambassador Hotel kitchen

In the pantry area of the hotel's main kitchen, shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, following a short victory speech in the ballroom of The Ambassador Hotel, the winner of the California Democratic presidential primary, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated. As the perpetrator, the Palestinian immigrant Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was arrested at the scene. Kennedy died one day later from his injuries. June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... A primary election is an election in which voters in a jurisdiction select candidates for a subsequent election (nominating primary). ... Robert Francis Bobby Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also called RFK, was one of two younger brothers of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and served as United States Attorney General from 1961 to 1964. ... Robert Kennedy United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy was fatally wounded by a gunshot in Los Angeles at approximately 12:15 a. ... The term Palestinian has other usages, for which see definitions of Palestinian. ... Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (born March 19, 1944) was convicted of (and is generally believed to have committed) the June 5, 1968 assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, by shooting him just minutes after Kennedy had won the California presidential primary election. ...

After the death of RFK

The death of Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) coincided with the beginning of the hotel's demise, hastened by the decline of the surrounding neighborhood. By the 1970s, the gang and drug problems in the area near the hotel were already becoming severe, and worsened as time went on. Despite a renovation of the Coconut Grove in the mid 1970s, under the creative control of Sammy Davis, Jr., the hotel was not able to return to its former splendor, and closed in 1989. Robert Francis Bobby Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also called RFK, was one of two younger brothers of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and served as United States Attorney General from 1961 to 1964. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the entertainer. ...

Until 2004

Until 2004 it was a frequent site of movie, music video and television filming, having served as a location for such films as The Graduate, Hoffa, Beaches, Crazy, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Emilio Estevez's movie Bobby managed to film there in late 2005, even as the adjoining wing was being demolished. The Ambassador Hotel's Coconut Grove also played host to rock legend Roy Orbison and several rock performers in the 1987 TV special Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night For the American rock band, see The Graduate (band). ... Hoffa is a 1992 biopic film based on the life and mysterious death of Teamsters Union leader Jimmy Hoffa. ... Beaches is a 1988 movie adapted by Mary Agnes Donoghue from the novel Beaches by Iris Rainer Dart. ... Crazy is a biographical musical film inspired by the life of Nashville guitarist Hank Garland. ... Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a 1998 film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompsons 1971 novel Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream. ... Emilio Estévez (born May 12, 1962 in New York, New York) is an American actor, director and writer. ... Bobby is a Golden Globe Award-nominated drama film written and directed by Emilio Estevez. ... Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988), nicknamed The Big O, was an influential American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll whose recording career spanned more than four decades. ... Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night is an acclaimed 1988 Cinemax television special originally broadcast on HBO starring Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll pioneer singer/songwriter Roy Orbison. ...

2004-2005

From 2004 to 2005, it was totally closed and was the focus of a battle between the Los Angeles Unified School District, who wanted to clear the site and build a school; Sirhan Sirhan, who, through his lawyer the late Lawrence Teeter, wanted to conduct more testing in the pantry where Robert F. Kennedy was shot; and preservationists (L.A. Conservancy and the Art Deco Society), who wanted the hotel and its various elements saved and integrated into the future school. The Los Angeles Unified School District (the LAUSD) is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. ... Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (March 19, 1944–) is the convicted assassin of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy. ... Robert Francis Bobby Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also called RFK, was one of two younger brothers of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and served as United States Attorney General from 1961 to 1964. ...

Following much litigation, a settlement was reached at the end of August 2005, allowing the The Ambassador Hotel demolition to go forward in exchange for the establishment of a $4.9 million fund, earmarked for saving historic school buildings in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

2006 - 2010

LAUSD plans to build Central Los Angeles New Learning Center #1 K-3 [1] and Central Los Angeles New Learning Center #1 4-8/HS [2]. LAUSD plans to open the K-3 facility in 2009 and the 4-8 and high school facility in 2010.

The Ambassador Hotel auction

On September 10, 2005, a final public auction was held for the remaining hotel fittings and work soon began on demolition of The Ambassador Hotel. On January 16, 2006, the last section of The Ambassador Hotel fell, with most of the demolition taking place in 2005, leaving only the annex that housed the hotel entrance, a shopping arcade, the coffee shop, and the Coconut Grove, all of which will be reused for the school. A wake attended by hundreds was held for The Ambassador Hotel on February 2, 2006 at the Gaylord Apartments and adjoining restaurant H.M.S. Bounty [3], both part of a historic building built in 1924, directly across the street from the Ambassador; Diane Keaton, who was one of many who fought for the preservation of the hotel, was among the speakers at the ceremony. September 10 is the 253rd day of the Gregorian calendar (254th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 16 is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... A wake is a ceremony associated with death. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Diane Keaton (born Diane Hall on January 5, 1946) is an Oscar-winning American film actress, director and producer. ...

The Coconut Grove

The Coconut Grove nightclub has been renovated a number of times before, destroying much of its architectural integrity, and will undergo yet another major transformation before emerging as the auditorium for the new school. Also being kept is the coffee shop, designed by one of the earliest noted African-American architects, Paul Williams. The coffee shop shares the ground floor corner of the same building as the Coconut Grove. Portions of the area where Robert F. Kennedy was shot have been set aside, but those remnants have been removed from the site. The north side of the new school will reflect the original facade of the hotel and north lawns will remain much the same, as seen from Wilshire Boulevard. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Paul Williams Paul Revere Williams (February 18, 1894 – January 23, 1980) was an African American architect who based his practice largely in Los Angeles, California and the Southern California area. ... Robert Francis Bobby Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also called RFK, was one of two younger brothers of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and served as United States Attorney General from 1961 to 1964. ...

See also

• Robert F. Kennedy

Robert Francis Bobby Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also called RFK, was one of two younger brothers of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and served as United States Attorney General from 1961 to 1964. ...

External links

• TheAmbassadorHotel.com
• Ambassador Hotel image library
• The Ambassador's Ambassador of Goodwill - "Art The Doorman" - includes many vintage photographs
• "Late Check-Out: Images From The Ambassador Hotel's Final Two Years"
• The Ambassador's Last Stand
• Seeing Stars: The Ambassador Hotel
• "Dead inn" by Hank Stuever: Washington Post, April 18, 2004
• "Last Looks", an exhibit featuring LMGA Location Manager's Photos of the hotel's last days