Spirit of “˜Hotel California’ still can be found in L.A. hotels
Cocoanut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel, which was demolished in 2006, was a hot spot for budding musicians such as Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong. The website Ambassador Archive now commemorates this hotel and its Hollywood music history.
Courtesy of STEPHEN HILGER
By Shannon Cosgrove
April 6, 2011 1:31 a.m.
Upon entering the Beverly Hills Hotel, you can almost hear the voices down the corridor saying, “Welcome to the Hotel California.” Then you realize it’s actually just someone playing The Eagles’ “Hotel California” on their car stereo.
Nonetheless, the big red carpet, golden luggage carts and 1950s cursive letters on pastel pink columns (giving the hotel the nickname “Pink Palace”) bring visitors back to another era ““ an era when hotels not only housed musicians but also gave them a platform to perform.
Though the swanky Polo Lounge in the hotel no longer echoes with the sounds of Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack, it still entertains its guests with live jazz music. And gazing at the building at night surrounded by blue lights and palm trees, you might recognize it from The Eagles’ album cover for “Hotel California.”
The Andaz West Hollywood, previously the Hyatt, is another Hotel California that is famous for its high-profile guests. The “Riot House” keeps up its reputation in the hotel-room party scene in “Almost Famous” (2000) and the poolside interview in “This is Spinal Tap” (1984). Its proximity to the House of Blues and other music clubs puts it in a prime location for rock stars and music junkies alike. While the sport of television-throwing from the hotel’s balconies is no longer practiced by the likes of Keith Richards and Keith Moon, the hotel remains a hot spot for musicians.
Chateau Marmont is another hotel with lingering history ““ and exhaust from the motorcycles Led Zeppelin allegedly drove through the lobby. Jim Morrison of The Doors was a regular wrecker there, damaging both hotel property and himself after playing Tarzan with the hotel’s drainpipes. Nowadays crazy antics at the hotel are limited to Britney Spears being banned for reportedly disgusting guests by smearing her dinner on herself in the garden restaurant.
Long before Britney became a household name, the Ambassador Hotel grew up with Hollywood; its Cocoanut Grove became a hot spot for budding musicians such as Bing Crosby, Barbra Streisand, Sinatra and Louis Armstrong. In 2006, the hotel was demolished. A year earlier, Annie Shaw and Stephen Hilger asked people to share their stories about the hotel and created the Ambassador Archive website dedicated to preserving memories.
One of these stories is from Isa-Kae Meksin, a former teacher who took some of her blind students to see The Association, Marvin Gaye and Ella Fitzgerald at Cocoanut Grove. The interactive website also includes old photos from people like Margaret Tante Burk, who encountered a variety of entertainers as the director of press relations for the Ambassador from 1969 until its official closing in 1989. Her photos are archived at Loyola Marymount University.
Though the demolition of the hotel was met with controversy and backlash, Shaw said she realizes that certain things cannot last forever. But while the physical building is gone, its stories and images can be digitally preserved for future generations to enjoy. Through this digital preservation, the memories, along with the guests of “Hotel California,” can never leave.
If you hear voices calling you from down the corridor, email Cosgrove at
[email protected].
