The Fate of the Historic Ambassador Hotel

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LA-s landmark Ambassador Hotel with its 444 rooms of Italian Renaissance and Mission revival architecture has been closed since 1989, leaving 23 acres unused in the heart of the city. The community around it is so dense that 4000 kids live within walking distance. So, the LA Unified School District bought the property, and is looking at no less than five different plans for building an elementary, middle and high school-all of which include preservation. Can this historic center of glitz and glamour become a meeting point for education, commerce, and historic preservation in Koreatown? We hear from an expert in adapting historic buildings for reuse, a preservationist from the Los Angeles Conservancy and the director of the Wilshire Center Business Improvement Corporation.
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Ambassador Hotel

LA Unified School District

LAUSD-s Ambassador Hotel Project

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney

Producer:

Frances Anderton