As you can see, the Ambassador demolition team has been busy. Not only are the upper floors of the northeast wing gone, but the front has been almost entirely stripped away. With so much frenzy, expect more frequent "Ambassador Cam" posts in the coming weeks.
A close-up look:
Franklin Avenue reader Barbara from San Diego e-mails:
I have been aware of your website for several weeks now, but am amazed at the photos you are now showing on the site. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to do this service for others who love the Ambassador Hotel, not only for myself (I live in San Diego) but for others who cannot easily get to the site to witness the sad, sad destruction that is going on there at this very time.
Two times in the last year, I came to photograph the Ambassador Hotel, and was able to take photos of it from the Wilshire Boulevard side and from what I believe to be the north side of the building. The hotel sat a half block up a street on the north side with a parking lot on the left, and the bungalows were still there on this side. Sadly, I apparently discarded the roll of film which had these photos on it, and am thus very appreciative of your work...
Do the Ambassador Hotel architectural drawings still exist, and if so, who has them? If not, has someone gone into the hotel and measured the most important rooms (the Grove, lobby, check in area, the largest suites, a sample of the smaller suites, the dimensions of the hallways, etc.) This measurement process could so easily have been done (and it indeed may have been done) but if not, it is too late to do it now.
Barbara also wonders if it's safe to get close to the Ambassador, as the demolition stirs up old asbestos in the building. Anyone have the answer to her questions, feel free to comment below.
(For our complete coverage of the Ambassador's demise, check out Franklin Avenue's companion blog, The Ambassador's Last Stand.)
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