The Ambassador Hotel - The History of Design - Report Example

The Ambassador Hotel- The History of Design Koreatown is a huge and influential part of the Los Angeles landscape. The Ambassador Hotel, formerly an important part of Koreatown, is now demolished. With it, in my opinion, goes a sense of respectfulness towards history that made me feel like I had a stake in the identity of Los Angeles. At the same time, one has to understand that things change, neighborhoods change. From a design perspective, the destruction of the Ambassador hotel has made me think about it and study it so as to appreciate this classic monument of Los Angeles architecture, architecture that I didn’t appreciate until recently when the current owners of the Hotel decided to permanently tear it town. In this way, I have mixed feelings about the destruction of the Koreatown mainstay, the Ambassador Hotel. Koreatown was formally recognized as Koreatown, or “K-Town,” since the 1980’s by the Los Angeles government. Koreans took a stake in the area in the mid-1900’s because it was cheap and generally a bad area but had the potential to be great. Koreatown holds the largest population of Koreans outside of Korea and in any other Koreatown in the United States. Koreatown is a really great place for me, as an American, to see how different ethnicities hold a part in the identity of the city and it’s design elements. Koreatown is a really important example of how ethnic preservation, in my opinion, is one of the most important parts of being an American and one of the most interesting design influences in the Los Angeles Area. Ethnic preservation through architecture and the progress of time comes in a partial integration of old traditions and new cultural attitudes, which embodied the story of the Ambassador Hotel. Myron Hunt designed the Ambassador Hotel along with other iconic architectural points in Los Angeles, like the Rose Bowl Stadium and many Los Angeles based colleges. His style embodied the old time Hollywood aesthetic which mixed a sort of classic architectural sensibility with Spanish flare. It had wide, spacious windows, prominent columns and whitewashed walls. At the same time, it had stucco and Spanish style tiled moldings and rooftop. The Ambassador Hotel opened in 1921 at 3400 Wilshire Boulevard using this aesthetic. It was physically destroyed a couple years ago. because the Los Angeles United School District bought the Hotel for development. Up until 1989, The Ambassador Hotel was used as a very high-class hotel to the stars. In the era from the late forties through the early sixties, the Ambassador took on an art deco flare, which meant that the shapes were fractured, and a geometry of space and shape was emphasized over the more quotidian aesthetic of Spanish style or the old-world regality of classicism. Robert Kennedy was shot there and many famous people called the Ambassador Hotel home. Unfortunately, the owners could not keep up with the debt and the safety codes that were needed for the safety of the hotel’s guests. The hotel began to degrade, according to Whit Wagner, who observed the inside of the aging monolith. “Rumbling bungalows follow the eastern edge from Wilshire Boulevard back to an abandoned tennis complex, the courts impotent without their nets. To the west, an Art Deco swimming pool sits empty” (Wagner). After 1989, the property was fought over and continued to be used for events such as filming and awards ceremonies. In this way, it continued to be a very historical place with a lot of Los Angeles pride. There is so much history that went into this hotel, it is hard to imagine that it is gone. At present, a school will open where the old Ambassador Hotel used to be. It is really hard to believe that this large, pristine structure was torn down for something less opulent and definitely less glamorous. And, the community takes a hit, too. “With a new freeway offering easy access to the west side’s beaches and airport, the sharp drop in revenue had a devastating effect on downtown LA’s hospitality business” (Wagner). Koreans have taken over the site itself, putting up Korean signs and Korean stands filling the gap of where the hotel once stood. Still, I have mixed feelings about the destruction of the Ambassador hotel and what it means to me. As a resident of Koreatown, I feel angry that such an iconic place is gone. I feel like a lot of the time, Koreatown residents don’t get a say in how their city changes, and this is one primary example of this. I feel like I love Koreatown to the point where I would love to have a larger say in the fate of my part of town. I also feel like people don’t really appreciate history in the way that they should. In Europe, thousand year old buildings stand alongside modern ones because those governments tend to appreciate older structures more. In America and especially in Los Angeles, people emphasize newness and modernity over identity and history. This also makes me angry because I feel like if we can’t appreciate the past, what can we appreciate? I’m not sure the answer to this question but the destruction of the Ambassador hotel makes me feel like the past isn’t being appreciated the way that it ultimately should. On the other hand, the world is always changing, and so is Los Angeles. Without change, I would probably not feel as comfortable as I do being a person of Korean-American descent in Los Angeles or in America. Sometimes, it is important to plunge forward into the unknown rather than to hold on to old monuments and memories. This can often be unhealthy and be a blight or stumbling block to a community that needs to progress. Koreans generally do well with adapting to their surroundings and progressing, so maybe the destruction of the Ambassador Hotel will bring about good things. For example, perhaps a new area that will surround the school and an opportunity for more Los Angelino children to get a good education. There will be more capability for more Korean designs, which architecturally mean a brutalist sensibility (as learned from the metropolises of Seoul). At the same time, Korean architecture has embraced European trends to create an excellent mélange of European sensitivity to detail and history and a streamlined but creative way that Korean architecture embodies. This mixture of architectural sensibilities is what is seen most in Koreatown today. The Ambassador Hotel was a great physical monument and personified the Los Angeles mentality of classic glamour and ambition, but the neighborhood could make Los Angeles a better place. Instead of focusing on glamour, filmmaking and certain facades (like perfection, stardom and happiness through legacy) the neighborhood can start focusing on more important things like ensuring a child’s future and making the neighborhood even safer, cleaner and cohesive. Overall, I have very mixed feelings about the demolition of the Ambassador Hotel. These feelings range from frustration to anger to sadness to hope and pragmatism. Only time will tell what this new area will be for Los Angeles. What I do know is that I love Koreatown and feel very lucky to have such a community at my fingertips, as a resident of Los Angeles. The architecture and ethnic history of this place is truly fantastic. I hope the residents of Los Angeles feel the same way and though change is inevitable, the preservation of identity is also important to fulfilling the dreams of Los Angeles’ inhabitants. The Ambassador Hotel was a historic landmark and its destruction is different but maybe this change will bring about something even better for the neighborhood. Works Cited Wagner, Whit. “Late Check Out: The Ambassador Hotel’s Final Years.” Photoblog Magazine, May 2005. Web. 15 March 2010. Read More