This is the online home of author, journalist and editor Kevin Roderick.
Use the red links at the top of the page for a bio, information about his books and an archive of published work. The Blog link will take you back to the main page where news and updates are posted.
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View from above

Wilshire Boulevard's Ambassador Hotel, as seen from a space satellite (they use satelitte images, but this is from an airplane) about four years ago via Windows Live Local. The smaller buildings with red-tile roofs on the east side of the grounds were the bungalows where celebrities and long-term residents often stayed.

Ambassador

The hotel closed in the 1980s and was used after that primarily for filming and parking. But in the photo, you can clearly see its scale and even get a sense of its faded grandeur. Only the northern half of the grounds are shown; off camera is the pool area and the former site of an auditorium for the National Horse Show. Wilshire Boulevard is at the top of the photograph.

As of this week, the north wing of the hotel has been demolished. Work is proceeding on removing most of the main building before New Year's.

Posted on December 14, 2005