The Barn got a wonderful chance at being a local research facility with a recent visit by two experts in archaeology and paleontology from Cogstone Resource Management, Inc., Robin Turner and Sherri Gust.
Robin had worked on the excavation of the Hollywood Hotel site, when the MTA was building a subway stop at that corner. The porcelain and pottery shards that were unearthed at that time were ultimately deposited with the San Bernardino Museum (following a procedure spelled out in laws governing such found objects) and they were borrowed from there by Hollywood Heritage last year.
When Robin made the appointment she specifically asked about some “Christmas Ware.” After looking at the assembled shards she realized we do have a few pieces of the pattern she was seeking.
While the china inspection was going on, author Tommy Dankcil (Hollywood In Vintage Postcards) was visiting with his postcards and comparing notes with Robert Nudelman. The archaeologists started checking various Hollywood Hotel cards (“Can we see any china on the tables of the dining room card???”) and Robert offered up one photograph album sheet that included a postcard promoting the Hotel Hollywood with…ta da!...the stylized holly leaf from the “Christmas Ware!” Robin realized she had identified Hollywood Hotel china and the hotel’s foliate symbol (holly wood).
It’s exciting to realize the Hollywood Heritage collection can be a first-hand research source for such matters as local china patterns…and then some!