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Image / Wilshire Brown Derby exterior

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Title
Wilshire Brown Derby exterior
Alternative Title
Works Progress Administration Photo Collection
Date Created and/or Issued
1939
Publication Information
Federal Writers' Project
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
This was the first Brown Derby Restaurant, built in 1926 and generally referred to as the "Wilshire Brown Derby." Designed in part by J.R. Davidson, the "derby" measured 28 feet in diameter and 17 1/2 feet in height; this was the only one of the four restaurant buildings that resembled a bowler hat. First it was located at 3427 Wilshire Boulevard, across the street from the Ambassador Hotel, but was later moved one block over to 3347 Wilshire Boulevard. In 1975, it was closed and sold. After the restaurant was demolished in 1980, the shell of the hat-shaped dome was restored and incorporated into the design of the Brown Derby Plaza, a strip mall at 3377 Wilshire Boulevard.
Exterior view of the Original Brown Derby on Wilshire at Alexandria. The patio area, filled with patrons, is visible at right. Three women wearing hats stand near the front entrance. Palm trees frame the photograph. Photograph taken April 27, 1939.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w
Photographic prints
Identifier
00008672
Works Progress Administration Collection
WPA 4046-B 4x5
CARL0000010122
http://173.196.26.125/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/1779
Subject
Brown Derby Restaurant (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Restaurants--California--Los Angeles
Mimetic architecture--California--Los Angeles
Women--California--Los Angeles
Sidewalks--California--Los Angeles
Umbrellas--California--Los Angeles
Palms--California--Los Angeles
Streets--California--Los Angeles
Lost architecture--California--Los Angeles
Wilshire Boulevard (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Works Progress Administration Collection photographs

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