L.A. school district gets OK to tear down Cocoanut Grove
Jan 16, 2008 11:52 AM
The Los Angeles Unified School District will pay $4 million to fund
historic school conservation, and the Los Angeles Conservancy will drop a
lawsuit that sought to preserve the once-glitzy Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the
former Ambassador Hotel. In settling a lawsuit brought by the conservancy,
the school system now has clearance to demolish most of the Cocoanut Grove's
structure and begin building a 4,200-student K-12 campus on the site. The first
of the schools to be constructed as part of the $566 million project is a K-3
building, slated to open in 2009.
Click here to read The
Los Angeles Times article.
FROM NOVEMBER 2007: The Los Angeles Unified School District has agreed reluctantly to
delay demolition of the former Cocoanut Grove nightclub. The Los Angeles
Conservancy sought to halt the demolition to give a judge time to rule on
whether the district was breaking the law by tearing the club down. The district
wants to raze the structure to make way for a 4,240-student complex on the site
of the former Ambassador Hotel and says a delay could make it impossible to open
the campus by 2010, as projected. (Los Angeles Times)
EARLIER: In an effort to keep intact the landmark Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the former Ambassador Hotel, the Los Angeles Conservancy has again sued the Los Angeles Unified School District. The group contends the district broke the law when it decided recently to demolish most of the Cocoanut Grove structure. The suit asks a judge to require the school system to spare the nightclub or prove why it can't. (Los Angeles Times).
Delivering yet another blow to historical preservationists, the Los Angeles School Board has decided to tear down most of the structure of the Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the former Ambassador Hotel as part of its plans to build a school there. The district had proposed converting the nightclub space into a school auditorium, but officials say the structure is too weak to withstand an earthquake. Neighborhood activists, who have been waiting for a K-12 campus for years, applauded after the vote. The Los Angeles Conservancy, which tried to block the hotel's demolition, says the board's plans to tear down the nightclub breaks its promise to the community. (Los Angeles Times)
