Friday, June 6, 2008 – No Brown Derby

The first Brown Derby - also known as the Little Hat - was opened in February 1926 across the street from the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard. This Brown Derby, and the others that followed, played a big part in Hollywood's Golden Age. And you would expect that:

The original idea for the Brown Derby Restaurant is believed to have been the brainchild of Herb Somborn (then husband of actress Gloria Swanson), Wilson Mizner and Sid Grauman. According to legend, in 1925 these individuals were chatting with Abe Frank, manager of the Ambassador Hotel, when Somborn remarked, "You could open a restaurant in an alley and call it anything, or you could even build it in the shape of a hat, and if the food and service were good, the patrons would come flocking." (Mizner's version was that he said to Somborn: "If you know anything about food, you can sell it out of a hat.")

They're all gone now, every one of them.  So is the Ambassador Hotel. Here’s where you'd find the original, were it still here - Brown Derby Plaza, Wilshire Boulevard at Alexandria.

Actually, the original Brown Derby was here, where the Equitable Building now stands – 1969, Welton Becket and Associates – 3435 Wilshire Boulevard.  The Brown Derby was moved one block east when they build this.

So, no Brown Derby here – and you'll just have to make do.

If you wish to use any of these photos for commercial purposes I assume you'll discuss that with me. And should you choose to download any of these images and use them invoking the "fair use" provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976, please provide credit, and, on the web, a link back this site. 

Technical Note:

Photographs after March 3, 2008, were taken with a Nikon D200 – or a Nikon D70 when noted. All previous photographs were taken with the D70. The lenses used are (1) AF-S Nikkor 18-70 mm 1:35-4.5G ED, or (2) AF Nikkor 70-300 mm telephoto, or (3) AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 55-200 mm f/4-5.6G ED. Photography here is modified for web posting using Adobe Photoshop 7.0.  The earliest photography in the archives was done with a Sony Mavica digital still camera (MVC-FD-88) with built-in digital zoom.

All text and photos, unless otherwise noted, Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 - Alan M. Pavlik