Ambassador Alert!
Support the A+ Coalition!

After many years of uncertainty, the fate of the historic Ambassador Hotel may be decided within just a few weeks. The LAUSD School Board is expected to take up the issue by the end of April. A decision by the seven Board members is expected to address a choice between an adaptive reuse plan that saves the hotel complex and outright demolition. Members are encouraged to stay engaged on this matter at this crucial time.

Opened in 1921, the Ambassador was designed by architect Myron Hunt who also designed the Wattles Mansion. Set on 10 acres, this graceful resort hotel virtually chronicles the 20th Century. No less than eight American presidents played host, from Hoover to Nixon to then-Governor Ronald Reagan. The hotel was also the site of one of America’s greatest tragedies. In June 1968, Robert F. Kennedy, having just won the California presidential primary, was assassinated in the hotel’s kitchen after giving a speech to supporters.

For decades, the world’s greatest entertainers and movie stars graced the Cocoanut Grove. The Ambassador also hosted six Oscar ceremonies, including the ceremony for 1939, perhaps filmdom’s most acclaimed year.

Hollywood Heritage is part of the newly formed Ambassador Plus (A+) Coalition. Spearheaded by the Los Angeles Conservancy, the A+ Coalition is made up of community, preservation, business and artistic organizations that support saving the hotel. While the Coalition continues to grow, there is opposition to saving the hotel from groups concerned about the cost of an adaptive reuse plan. That plan is more expensive, but that is because it provides 25% more space for the school district than the demolition plan. We expect the Board’s vote to be close on this issue.

Please visit our website, www.hollywoodheritage.org, for more detailed information about the Ambassador Hotel issue. The website also provides a link for sending emails to all of the School Board members with just a few clicks. Please, make your voice heard and support the A+ Coalition.