I have been following the progress of the current mound of dirt on Sunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights, which was once the site of the Garden of Allah Hotel. What treasures/secrets were buried there when the hotel was razed in 1959? Oh, to be able to sift through the soil and see if there are any remnants of the infamous complex where F. Scott Fitzgerald, Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart, and Marlene Dietrich once resided. From my seventh floor vantage point, I don’t see anything…yet. Hard (and sad) to imagine that a Frank Gehry monstrosity will eventually rise up from this lot.
Here’s what Allah looked like back in the 1950’s:
A vintage menu:
Looking at the offerings is like opening a time capsule. You can tell so much about an era/society by what they eat.
Stay tuned to see how the excavation progresses.
See more Garden of Allah photos at my main website.
13 comments:
Just like seeing a movie star in person, I always imagine the GoA as being so much bigger than it really was.
LOL, my husband is an architect and he also hates Frank Gehry. >D
Whoa! Where did you get that Garden of Allah menu? Ebay, I assume. However you got it, I'm suffering from severe menuenvy right now!
Melissa said what I was thinking...a nondescript set of buildings which seem to perfectly mirror the surroundings. Something that can't be said of what will replace it. The simplicity of the times back then make it even more appealing. As for liver and onions...that's a non-starter even at 65 cents. BTW Dave, you have a date on that menu? KS
Melissa - Objects in mirror may appear…
Jenn - I like your husband! I have come to appreciate the WD Concert Hall over the years, but mainly because it’s so odd.
Martin - I hope you find a cure for that!
KS - Unfortunately, only the month and day. The year could probably be approximated based on the prices. At least we know it predates 1959!
I'm still trying to figure out if the tomato is stuffed with chicken, or if it's stuffed with something else and served alongside the chicken. The world may never know!
The logo on that menu leads me to suspect it's from earlier in the Garden of Allah's life rather than later.
I had to look up Frank Gehry and some of his works to appreciate this tragedy. He's clearly declared war on right angles. When he passes, I hope the internet is good enough to cough up a pic of Gehry's coffin. I've got $20 that says there's no right angles on the thing.
I've just checked with Jon Ponder from Playground to the Stars and he agrees that it's from the GOA's earlier days.
Hi Martin - by "earlier" days, do you think 1930's or 1940's?
Find all the years that March 23 fell on a Friday. Then use the telephone exchange numbers to narrow the possible range. That should eliminate most of the problem.
It's Friday March 23, 1934 because the hotel didn't add an "H" to the "Allah" until 1930 and 1934 is the first year after that when March 23 fell on a Friday. (I can't take credit for this detective work. Someone on my Facebook page figured it out.)
Thanks Martin for figuring it out!
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