Yesterday I walked down to photograph the rubble that remains of the Ambassador Hotel, about half a mile from my apartment. This LA landmark was forced to close down years when the government imposed new "earthquake safety" rules that the owners at the time couldn't afford to meet. The hotel was undamaged by the Northridge Quake.
The hotel was sold to new owners who wanted to make the required changes and re-open, but (purely by coincidence, no doubt) the Los Angeles Unified School District decided to steal the land in order to build a new prison camp public school. A series of new owners tried to fight off the government and save the hotel, but of course the outcome was never in doubt--not even the largest corporation could outlast the government of a city the size of Los Angeles. All that remains now is the part of the building that held the Cocoanut Grove nightclub.
On the way home I stopped at the Togos a block away, and there was a song playing on the radio about the Cocoanut Grove being the place to be. Not any more.
5:30:18 PM 
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