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Title
Press conference at Ambassador Hotel
Alternative Title
Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection
Date Created and/or Issued
1968
Contributing Institution
Los Angeles Public Library
Collection
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Rights Information
Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
Description
Title supplied by cataloger.
The massive 500-room Ambassador Hotel, designed by renowned architect Myron Hunt, opened for business in 1921 on the site of a former dairy farm. It occupied 23.7 acres at 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, bordered by 8th Street, Catalina Street, and nearly to Mariposa Avenue. The hotel served as the stomping grounds for a staggering list of Hollywood legends, heads of state, and an endless list of famous personalities from the 20th Century. It is said that as many as seven U.S. Presidents stayed at the Ambassador, from Hoover to Nixon, along with heads of state from around the world. A pivotal moment in world history happened in 1968, when Robert F. Kennedy was shot in a pantry off of the Embassy Room (and died 25 hours later), following his California Primary victory speech. The death of RFK coincided with the beginning of the hotel's demise. The Schine family had owned the Ambassador for about 50 years, until its doors were closed on January 3, 1989 after 68 years of service, selling for $64 million. The landmark hotel was eventually demolished between late 2005 and early 2006.
Senator Ted Kennedy (right) laughs with speaker of the California Assembly, Jesse Unruh, at a press conference at the Embassy Room. In his speech, Sen. Kennedy shared that supporters for Vice President Humphrey and Eugene McCarthy would join forces to defeat his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, during the June 4 California Primary. Photograph dated May 7, 1968.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;29 x 36 cm.
Photographic prints
Identifier
00105592
Herald Examiner Collection
HE box 2098
CARL0005179910
http://173.196.26.125/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/30508
Subject
Kennedy, Edward M.--(Edward Moore),--1932-2009
Unruh, Jesse,--1922-1987
Kennedy, Robert F.,--1925-1968
California.--Legislature.--Assembly--Speakers
Ambassador Hotel
Legislators--United States
Press conferences--California--Los Angeles
Political campaigns--California--Los Angeles
Primaries--California
Podiums--California--Los Angeles
Microphones
Telephones
Hotels--California--Los Angeles
Ballrooms--California--Los Angeles
Interiors--California--Los Angeles
Lost architecture--California--Los Angeles
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner photographs
Herald-Examiner Collection photographs
Hunt, Myron,1868-1952

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