Designed by American architect Myron Hunt, the Ambassador Hotel opened for business at the stroke of midnight on January 1, 1921, and quickly established a new standard of hotel luxury.
Guests were greeted by a grand lobby upon arrival, with an oversized Italian fireplace, crystal chandeliers, oriental carpets and luxurious draperies adorning the lobby, along with a choice of 1,000 guestrooms and bungalows.
The hotel occupied 23.7 acres at 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, bordered by Wilshire Boulevard at the north, 8th Street at the south, Catalina Street at the east, and nearly to Mariposa Avenue at the west.
When the hotel's Cocoanut Grove nightclub opened on April 21, 1921, it had officially solidified the hotel's social scene.
In the 1980 book, Are the Stars Out Tonight?,
former Ambassador PR Director, Margaret Tante Burk, recalls the Grove's opening night:
…on the night of April 21, 1921… the new club officially opened its Moroccan style, gold leaf and etched palm tree doors... The Cocoanut Grove was aptly named, guests agreed as they were escorted by the maître de and captains down the wide plush grand staircase... Overhead, soaring about the room were cocoanut trees of papier mache, cocoanuts and palm fronds which had been rescued from the sandy beaches of Oxnard where they had served as atmosphere of the 1921 classic, The Sheik.
Swinging from their branches were stuffed monkeys blinking at the revelers with their electrified amber eyes.
Stars twinkled in the blue ceiling sky, and on the southernmost wall hung a full Hawaiian moon presiding over a painted landscape and splashing waterfall.

The Cocoanut Grove was frequented by celebrities such as Louis B. Mayer, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Howard Hughes, Clara Bow, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Anna May Wong, Norma Talmadge and others.
According to Photoplay, Joan Crawford and Carole Lombard were frequent competitors in the Charleston contests held on Friday nights; Lombard was discovered at the Grove.
The famous artificial palm trees that adorned the Cocoanut Grove were left from Rudolph Valentino's 1921 silent romantic drama film The Sheik.
The names of the hotel and its nightclub quickly became synonymous with glamour.
As a result, “Cocoanut Grove" would become a trendy name for bars and clubs across the United States.

Beginning in 1928, Gus Arnheim led the Cocoanut Grove Orchestra, in which six to seven songs were sung each night.
At one point, there was a two-hour broadcast of the orchestra on radio.
By the 1930s, the Cocoanut Grove was frequented by cinema stars like Norma Shearer, Irving Thalberg, Clark Gable, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Loretta Young, Lucille Ball, Ginger Rogers and countless others.
On February 29, 1940, the 1939 Academy Awards Ceremony was held in the Cocoanut Grove, with Bob Hope hosting the awards.

During World War II, servicemen from the U.S. military mingled with movie stars at the hotel during numerous galas and fundraising events to help with war efforts.

Loyce Whiteman, singer for the Cocoanut Grove Orchestra, recalled, "the most beautiful thing about the Grove is that they stood in front of you when you sang and just swayed to the music.
Joan Crawford would stand at the stand and sing a couple of choruses with the band.
It was a house full of stars."
Designed by American architect Myron Hunt, the Ambassador Hotel opened for business at the stroke of midnight on January 1, 1921, and quickly established a new standard of hotel luxury. Guests were greeted by a grand lobby upon arrival, with an oversized Italian fireplace, crystal chandeliers, oriental carpets and luxurious draperies adorning the lobby, along with a choice of 1,000 guestrooms and bungalows. The hotel occupied 23.7 acres at 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, bordered by Wilshire Boulevard at the north, 8th Street at the south, Catalina Street at the east, and nearly to Mariposa Avenue at the west. When the hotel's Cocoanut Grove nightclub opened on April 21, 1921, it had officially solidified the hotel's social scene. In the 1980 book, Are the Stars Out Tonight?, former Ambassador PR Director, Margaret Tante Burk, recalls the Grove's opening night:
…on the night of April 21, 1921… the new club officially opened its Moroccan style, gold leaf and etched palm tree doors... The Cocoanut Grove was aptly named, guests agreed as they were escorted by the maître de and captains down the wide plush grand staircase... Overhead, soaring about the room were cocoanut trees of papier mache, cocoanuts and palm fronds which had been rescued from the sandy beaches of Oxnard where they had served as atmosphere of the 1921 classic, The Sheik. Swinging from their branches were stuffed monkeys blinking at the revelers with their electrified amber eyes. Stars twinkled in the blue ceiling sky, and on the southernmost wall hung a full Hawaiian moon presiding over a painted landscape and splashing waterfall.
The Cocoanut Grove was frequented by celebrities such as Louis B. Mayer, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Howard Hughes, Clara Bow, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Anna May Wong, Norma Talmadge and others. According to Photoplay, Joan Crawford and Carole Lombard were frequent competitors in the Charleston contests held on Friday nights; Lombard was discovered at the Grove. The famous artificial palm trees that adorned the Cocoanut Grove were left from Rudolph Valentino's 1921 silent romantic drama film The Sheik. The names of the hotel and its nightclub quickly became synonymous with glamour. As a result, “Cocoanut Grove" would become a trendy name for bars and clubs across the United States.
Beginning in 1928, Gus Arnheim led the Cocoanut Grove Orchestra, in which six to seven songs were sung each night. At one point, there was a two-hour broadcast of the orchestra on radio. By the 1930s, the Cocoanut Grove was frequented by cinema stars like Norma Shearer, Irving Thalberg, Clark Gable, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Loretta Young, Lucille Ball, Ginger Rogers and countless others. On February 29, 1940, the 1939 Academy Awards Ceremony was held in the Cocoanut Grove, with Bob Hope hosting the awards.
During World War II, servicemen from the U.S. military mingled with movie stars at the hotel during numerous galas and fundraising events to help with war efforts.
Loyce Whiteman, singer for the Cocoanut Grove Orchestra, recalled, "the most beautiful thing about the Grove is that they stood in front of you when you sang and just swayed to the music. Joan Crawford would stand at the stand and sing a couple of choruses with the band. It was a house full of stars."
Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)