Famed Venue
Is Destroyed
(March 11, 2008)
-
Barbra Streisand
was received like royalty when she performed at the Cocoanut
Grove in 1963. Her shows in the venerable showroom of the
Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Blvd. were some of the most
important appearances of her career. They formally introduced
Barbra to the elite of west coast show business and helped
catapult her to national stardom. Everyone in Hollywood came out
to see Barbra, from Lucille Ball to Natalie Wood to Judy
Garland. In 1994, Barbra commented that she "was the least known
person in the room," an accurate assessment on her opening
night. But by the time she closed her engagement at the Grove on
September 8th, her standing among the ranks of major celebrities
was forever changed.The
Cocoanut Grove opened in 1921. Not only was the Cocoanut Grove a
showplace for many of the major performers of the day, but it was also
the home of the Oscar award ceremonies during the 1930s and 1940s. The
first ever Oscar award statue was handed out at the Grove.
|
Demolition of
The Cocoanut Grove
(phoro:
LA Observed) |
|
The Ambassador Hotel, which housed the Grove, was the focal point of
one of the darkest days in American history when Senator Robert F.
Kennedy was assassinated in the hotel's kitchen following a campaign
appearance. This June will mark the 40th anniversary of that tragic
event in American history.
The Los Angeles school
district purchased the land on which the Ambassador Hotel and the
Cocoanut Grove stood. Preservation activists, led by such luminaries
as film star Diane Keaton, tried for years to prevent the demise of
the hotel. Their efforts proved futile. The Ambassador Hotel was razed
last year. The Cocoanut Grove, however, managed to escape its
inevitable fate a bit longer as plans were made to incorporate the
former night club into a new school campus to be constructed on the
site. Years of neglect at the boarded up Cocoanut Grove ultimately
dashed any hopes for its salvation. Deemed structurally unsound, the
Cocoanut Grove was demolished on February 12, 2008.
So the question remains. Why are we as a society so neglectful of our
own rich cultural history? The demise of the Cocoanut Grove is just
one of countless examples of the "build 'em up and tear 'em down"
policy Americans take for granted. When it comes to cultural and
historic preservation, we need to take pause before commissioning a
wrecking ball. As for Hollywood, anyone with an interest in its
glorious history will have to rely on photographs in historical
archives to get any sense of what life was really like during its
golden age. |
