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"The Ambassador Hotel and Cocoanut Grove"
3400 Wilshire Boulevard. Los Angeles.

"The Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles its story and history since its opening on New Years Day 1921."

Section of Wilshire Boulevard from the Ambassador Hotel to The Good Samaritans Hospital recently renamed,
The Robert F Kennedy Memorial Parkway.

Click here for a last Tour of  The Ambassador Hotel as at 1st March 2005

"The Ambassador Hotel" opened on New Years Day 1921 and instantly became a Mecca for the Rich & Famous of Hollywood . The opening of the Cocoanut Grove on 21st. April 1921 just confirmed The Ambassador Hotel as the top spot in Hollywood. The Grove's interior contained palm trees (said to have been props from  Rudolph Valentino's classic 1921 film The Sheik) with stuffed monkeys hanging from them and a blue ceiling painted with twinkling stars. The Cocoanut Grove quickly established itself as Hollywood's premier nightclub and on any given night a host of the most famous celebrities of the day could be found partying the night away. From its opening through to the 60's the celebrities who partied, stayed or even lived at The Ambassador Hotel read like a Who's Who of the Rich & Famous.
The Ambassador Hotel has over the years been used for many events, celebrations and perhaps for the most famous debut. On the 3rd.April 1930 Oscar was introduced to the world at The Cocoanut Grove, Oscar being the gold statuette given out at the Academy Awards. Although this was the third Academy Awards presentation, it was the first time that the now familiar Gold Oscar statue was presented. The Ambassador Hotel was used throughout the 30's & 40's for the Academy Awards and in 1944 played host to the first Golden Globe awards. Many parties have been held for celebrities in the Cocoanut Grove, on 4th.October 1930 Mickey Mouse held his 2nd. birthday party there. Other parties have been held for and by many Hollywood legends including  Jean Harlow, Maureen O'Hara, Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino, Joan Crawford  and nearly every other star. Joan Crawford incidentally won over a 100 dance trophies at the Cocoanut Grove, competing in their dance competitions. Judy Garland made a spectacular comeback concert after several years of illness at the Cocoanut Grove, indeed it was on her last night there that the album Judy Garland at the Grove was recorded live. The Ambassador Hotel was the hotel where the jury in the Charles Manson murder trial stayed  in 1971 for the duration of the 9 month trial. Many celebrities had permanent suites reserved for them at the Ambassador Hotel including Howard Hughes reputed to then be the richest man in the world. 

Despite all of its celebrated history & past glory days The Ambassador Hotel will forever be remembered  & associated with one of America's blackest days - The assassination of  Robert F Kennedy, brother of  President John F Kennedy, who had himself been assassinated in Dallas on 22nd. November 1963. Senator Robert F Kennedy was himself running for the Presidency in 1968. He had just finished delivering his victory speech for the Californian Primary, in the Hotel's Embassy Ballroom , when on leaving through the pantry he was gunned down by Sirhan Sirhan an Arab Palestinian. The time 12:23am.5th.June1968  Kennedy was hit twice, and as a result both the senator and in a sense the Ambassador Hotel died that night. Robert Kennedy was taken to the nearby Good Samaritan Hospital  where on the Fifth floor, surrounded by family & friends, he was pronounced dead on  6th June1968 he was 42years old.
The Ambassador Hotel had been slowly but surely falling out of favor, due to a combination of newer Hotels in the now chic area of Beverly Hills and  the lack of upkeep by the Ambassadors management. The Ambassador Hotel carried on but it was never the same from that night on.  Gradually year by year becoming more run down, closing  floor by floor, until finally closing its doors to the public on 3rd. January 1989. Virtually 68 years to the day from that grand opening the Ambassador Hotel and Cocoanut Grove was locked, together with their history & memories of Hollywood's Golden Age.
The Ambassador Hotel today is still an impressive sight, standing on Wilshire Boulevard behind a chain link fence, this 500 room hotel is still making headlines some 12 years after its closure. Now owned by the Donald Trump Organization the Ambassador Hotel has been since its closure, the subject of many so called projects, planning permissions and legal arguments. Ranging from being replaced by a new school to various office and shopping developments, all of which have so far come to nothing. The hotels contents were auctioned off in the ninety's and it now stands as you  see it, an empty building. The Ambassador Hotel had been used in many movies before its closure, perhaps the most memorable being The Graduate . In which The Ambassadors Lobby, Reception Desk & Palm Bar are all shown extensively when a young Dustin Hoffman conducts his love affair with Mrs.Robinson (Ann Bancroft) in the hotel, called The Taft in the film. Since its closure The Ambassador has been used exclusively for location shooting in Movies, TV series, commercials & video's. The dark wooden veneer walls, high ceilings & general 30's decor make it a firm favorite with film companies, especially with no public to contend with. Some film shootings which have taken place at the Ambassador  include scenes from :-

 The Fabulous Baker Boys - True Romance - The Mask - Rocky - The Wedding Singer - A Star is Born - Naked Gun -
Hoffa - The Lawnmower Man - Murder She Wrote - Beverly Hills 902120 -Man on the Moon -Crazy in Alabama.

Pretty Woman - The scene when Vivian (Julia Roberts) is taught the use of place settings was filmed in the ballroom.

L.A. Story - The Ambassador's Entrance & Foyer are used as the L'Idiot Restaurant.

Forest Gump - Used as the strip club  in which Forest's  girlfriend Jenny  performs & sings in the nude.

Apollo 13 - Used as the apartments used by Gary Sinise and Kevin Bacon in the film.

Mafia-The Movie - The Lobby was turned into a Las Vegas casino and the Lido pool was the empty pool that the girl dived into.

Deep Impact - The scene where Morgan Freeman is in a Hotel kitchen area was filmed at the Ambassador.

The Rat Pack (1998) - The outside of the hotel was used when Sammy Davis Jnr. was protested at by whites.

The Cocoanut Grove can also be scene extensively in the 1933 Films Lady Killer staring James Cagney and the Jean Harlow film Bombshell in which the resident Gus Arnheims orchestra can be clearly seen.

The Ambassador Hotel's Embassy ballroom was where Robert Kennedy made his last speech before being gunned down in the kitchen below.  This ballroom has appeared in many films and TV series including Pretty Woman & Dallas to name just a few. You just have to see this famous unique ceiling , either in wood or white, in any film setting and you know it was filmed in "The Ambassador Hotel"

With an uncertain future The Ambassador is still today a fine sight and a monument to Hollywood's Golden Age. With the amount of Hollywood history lost over the years  you would think LA would do every think in its power to renovate and preserve its heritage. Whilst understanding that the 24 acre plot that it stands on can be used for many things, do we really need another shopping mall, why not renovate the hotel itself. Once renovated the grounds could surely then be subject to discussions on their use by interested parties. The hotel itself I have no doubt could with the present era of nostalgia and themed hotels, be a commercial success. A genuine restored Ambassador Hotel-come museum, would soon become one of LA's major tourist attractions bringing millions of tourist dollars to LA. You could be drinking in the Valentino Bar, eating in the Harlow Restaurant or sleeping in the Clark Gable Suite. It will only happen if you care enough and if there's enough of you who care, why not start a save the Ambassador Hotel Action Group in your area.
Should it not be saved The Ambassador Hotel and Cocoanut Grove will be demolished but until then it still stands, should you wish to see part of Hollywood history make sure you visit before its to late.

Click here for more images of :-   The Ambassador Hotel.  Please note because of the number of images, this page will take longer loading.

Update - Plans have now been passed for The Ambassador to be demolished and a school to be built on the grounds. Perhaps not enough people did care about this fantastic Hotel & its history, which will now be lost forever. 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 RFK 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. Following much litigation, a settlement was reached at the end of August 2005, allowing the Ambassador 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.
On September 10, 2005, a final public auction was held for the remaining hotel fittings and work soon began on demolition of the 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 Cocoanut Grove, all of which will be reused for the school. A wake attended by hundreds was held for the Ambassador on February 2, 2006 at the Gaylord Apartments and adjoining restaurant H.M.S. Bounty, 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.
The Cocoanut 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 Cocoanut Grove. Portions of the area where 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.


Should any of you out there have pictures or stories to tell about the Ambassador please let me publish them for you on this site, the hotel may have gone but it should not be forgotten. Let us try to keep the memory of The Ambassador alive for those who were not fortunate enough to see this Hotel in its prime.

Can you help with the history & story of these Ambassador Coffee Pots & Items.

Ambassador Silver Coffee Pot                             The Markings on the Bottom 

This coffee pot was purchased at auction by an Ambassador fan who would like to know when and where this pot was used in the Ambassador. So if anyone out there knows anything on the history of this coffee pot please email Jean at  swettj@cnw.com  Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Kathie an Ambassador fan would like to know when and where this coffee pot, silverware & ashtray were used in the Ambassador. So if anyone out there knows anything on the history of these items please email Kathie at suzannebear1@yahoo.com   Any information would be greatly appreciated.