Heartbreak hotel

"I was just a little girl the first time I visited the Ambassador. My father held my hand and led me down a long hallway before we stopped in front of an ornate facade. I remember Dad's smile as he slowly opened the door to ... the fabulous Cocoanut Grove nightclub! In the magic of a perfect moment, I looked up and saw a parade of dreams etched across the face of the man I loved more than anyone in the world."

"In our battle against the Los Angeles Unified School District's decision to tear down the Ambassador and put up a new school, we made many arguments. We focused on "reuse" as an economic incentive. The LAUSD wasn't buying it. We hired a team of architects to come up with options that would transform Myron Hunt's 350,000-square-foot building into a series of classrooms, administrative offices and low- and moderate-income housing. That didn't fly either."

"It didn't matter that the Ambassador was a national landmark, or that six Oscar ceremonies had been hosted there, or that Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and even Barbra Streisand broke hearts on the stage of the Cocoanut Grove. Nothing stopped the Ambassador from becoming another little death of no consequence."

Diane Keaton, an Oscar-winning actress and historic preservation advocate, reflects on the demolition of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. She recalls her childhood visit to the iconic Cocoanut Grove nightclub within the hotel, describing how that experience shaped her belief in architecture's power to transform lives. When the Los Angeles Unified School District decided to demolish the 350,000-square-foot building designed by Myron Hunt to construct a new school, preservation advocates mounted multiple campaigns. They presented economic arguments for adaptive reuse, architectural redesigns incorporating classrooms and housing, and emphasized the hotel's cultural significance as host to six Oscar ceremonies and performances by legendary entertainers. Despite these comprehensive efforts, all arguments failed to prevent demolition, illustrating the challenges facing historic preservation.

Read at Los Angeles Times