Museum Day: Hollywood's Famous and Forgotten Haunts

The Hollywood Heritage Museum had a special exhibit called "Out with the Stars: Hollywood's Famous and Forgotten Haunts".  The exhibit was on display for only a few weeks and included memorabilia from legendary Hollywood venues like the Brown Derby, Hollywood Knickerbocker, Garden of Allah, Ciro's, Hollywood Palladium, and Trader Vic's. The memorabilia displayed included menus, brochures, restaurant accoutrement, dinnerware, and matchboxes. It was a wonderful time capsule from Hollywood's Golden Years.  Some places featured, like the Hollywood Palladium, still exist but most are long gone.  Either the businesses have closed and the buildings have been repurposed for other uses or demolished.  Thankfully, bits and pieces of these special places have been collected and shared in this exhibit. I spent a few hours on a Saturday afternoon perusing the fascinating collection and got a glimpse of a bygone era.   

A menu from the Brown Derby restaurant at 4500 Los Feliz Boulevard. The restaurant closed long ago, but the building still exists as a bank and restaurant.

More memorabilia from Brown Derby restaurants.

Menus and dishware from various Trader Vic's restaurants. The location at the Beverly Hilton Hotel closed in 2007.

The legendary Ciro's nightclub on Sunset Boulevard is now the Comedy Club. 

The Mocambo was another famous night club on Sunset Boulevard, but the building is gone. 

Sign from the first El Chollo restaurant on Western Avenue. The family-owned business still exists and have many restaurants in Los Angeles. 

Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Cafe on Pacific Coast Highway. The building still exists and is almost unchanged. 

The Hollywood Palladium on Sunset Boulevard still exists as a concert venue.

Dishware and menus from the Santa Fe passenger trains when train travel was luxurious. 

Dishware and menus from the Queen Mary and Union Pacific passenger trains. 

Ashtrays, matchbooks, and postcards from the Garden of Allah on Sunset Boulevard which was demolished in 1959 to build a bank and shopping center. 

Hotel brochures that include the Biltmore in downtown Los Angeles which is still a luxury hotel. 

The Hollywood Knicker is now senior housing. 

So many places and so many stories!  The Cinegrill at the Hollywood Roosevelt still exists.  The Pig N' Whistle was meticulously restored in the early 2000s, but in 2021 most of the restoration work was stripped by the new tenants.