Ambassador Hotel

 Photo Credit: http://www.theambassadorhotel.com/

This is an image of the Ambassador Hotel during its hey-day in the 1920s.

Photo Credit: Ale C.

The Robert Kennedy Community School that has been built over the site where the Ambassador Hotel once stood. 

Photo Credit: Michael Rouger/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

 This is one of many images of Robert Kennedy with Cesar Chavez, which indicates that Kennedy was cognizant of the Mexican American/Chicano struggle and was sympathetic toward the fight for equal rights.

The Ambassador Hotel, as seen in the first image above, was located at 3400 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles. It was opened on January 1, 1921. The hotel became a Hollywood hotspot when it opened its premiere nightclub, Cocoanut Grove, in April of the same year. The hotel became famous not only for its famous clientele, but also because the 12^th annual Academy Awards were held there. Decades later, the hotel and nightclub were still as popular as ever. Unfortunately, the hotel no longer exists. It fell into decay after the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968. He had just given a victory speech in the hotel’s Embassy Ballroom after winning the California Primary when he was shot by Sirhan Sirhan.

The hotel was set for demolition after a long battle between the Los Angeles Unified School District and Sirhan Sirhan who wanted to clear his name with evidence from the scene of the crime. LAUSD won and the site is not home to the Robert Kennedy Community School. The school’s address is 701 S. Catalina Street, Los Angeles. In spite of the demolition, some elements of Myron Hunt’s famous hotel were incorporated into the new design including: the hotel’s legendary Coconut Grove, which is now a 582-seat theatre, the hotel’s 1940’s era Paul R. Williams-designed coffee shop which now serves as a teachers’ lounge, and the intricate vaulted ceiling of the hotel’s Embassy Ballroom which was reconstructed as the library for secondary students.

Of course, Robert F. Kennedy was an important and involved figure during the tumultuous 1960s. Kennedy was a supporter of Cesar Chavez during his fight to unionized and improve the conditions of millions of farm workers. While Chavez believed that the Democratic Party would help to improve his and his fellow farm workers’ livelihood, this was not the case for all Mexican Americans. Many were disappointed with the previous administration under the deceased John F. Kennedy who had promised to address the complaints of Mexican Americans to no fruition. In spite of this, Chavez still supported the Democratic Party and he went on to meet Kennedy on a handful of occasions. Unfortunately, Kennedy would not be able to advocate on behalf of Chavez or any minorities due to his untimely death.

Submitted by: Ale C., Monica C., Fabian S.  

Sources:

"The Ambassador Hotel and Cocoanut Grove." Hollywood USA. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://hollywoodusa.co.uk/ambassador-hotel.htm>.

“Historic and Design Significance.” Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://www.rfkcommunityschools.org/Information>.

Mariscal, Jorge. “Negotiating Cesar:  Cesar Chavez in the Chicano Movement.” Aztlán 29 (Spring 2004):  21-56.