Skip to main content

Image / Dunbar Cocktail Lounge and Grill

Have a question about this item?

Item information. View source record on contributor's website.

Title
Dunbar Cocktail Lounge and Grill
Alternative Title
Shades of L.A. Photo Collection;
Creator
Adair Photo
Contributor
Shades of L.A. is an archive of photographs representing the contemporary and historic diversity of families in Los Angeles. Images were chosen from family albums and include daily life, social organizations, work, personal and holiday celebrations, and migration and immigration activities. Made possible and accessible through the generous support of the Security Pacific National Bank, Sunlaw Cogeneration Partners, Photo Friends, California Council for the Humanities, the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation
Date Created and/or Issued
Circa 1948
Contributing Institution
Los Angeles Public Library
Collection
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Rights Information
Images available for reproduction and educational use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/orderinguse.html for additional information.
The contents of this collection are restricted to personal, research, and non-commercial use. The Library cannot share the personal and/or contact information of the donors, their descendants, or associates who contributed photographs and oral histories to the collection.
Description
Image is a reproduction.
Walter Lear Gordon, Jr. was born in Santa Monica, California, on June 22nd, 1908. He was African American. He grew up in Shutson Park (now called Rose Hill Park), near Pasadena, and attended Rose Hill Grammar School and then Lincoln High School. The neighborhood and grammar school were almost entirely white. After high school, he attended USC for two years before attending Ohio State University In 1936 he graduated from Ohio State Law School. After graduation, Walter and a friend moved back to California where they promoted shows and held dances under the name “Gordon and Nickens.” In 1948 Walter was married and practicing law in Santa Monica when both of his parents were murdered during a robbery. He defended Billie Holiday in several lawsuits and worked mainly in divorces and criminal defense. Most of his clients were also black. He was married five times and had three children with his second wife, Anne Franklin. He ran for a Republican seat in Congress in 1954-55 but was unsuccessful. He continued to work as a lawyer well into the 1990s.
Composite photograph showing the interior of the Dunbar Cocktail Lounge, inside the Dunbar Hotel at 4225 S. Central Avenue in Los Angeles. It is owner Harry Spates whose portrait has been added in the upper center.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;20 x 26 cm.
Photographic prints
Identifier
00002072
Shades of L.A. Collection; Shades of L.A.: African American Community;
S-001-364 120
CARL0005061122
http://173.196.26.125/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/81062
Subject
Dunbar Cocktail Lounge (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Dunbar Hotel (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Bars (Drinking establishments)--California--South Los Angeles (Los Angeles)
Nightclubs--California--South Los Angeles (Los Angeles)
Hotels--California--South Los Angeles (Los Angeles)
Businessmen--California--Los Angeles
Central Avenue (Los Angeles, Calif.)
South Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Shades of L.A. Collection photographs
Shades of L.A. African American photographs
Composite photographs
Time Period
1941-1950
Source
Gordon, Walter

About the collections in Calisphere

Learn more about the collections in Calisphere. View our statement on digital primary resources.

Copyright, permissions, and use

If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.

Share your story

Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.

Explore related content on Calisphere: