Cocoanut Grove (Ambassador Hotel)

[3] With high demand for evening entertainment, hotel management converted the main ballroom into a new venue called The Cocoanut Grove, which opened on April 21, 1921.

[11] As the film industry grew in prestige, the Cocoanut Grove was "responsible for bringing together the worlds of society and show business" according to the hotel's PR director Margaret Tante Burk.

Big bands played for New Year's Eve parties, TK and dance contests, in which Joan Crawford and Gloria Swanson famously faced off against each other.

The big bands of Harry James, Horace Heidt and Carmen Cavallero played through World War II when the venue became a favorite of visiting servicemen looking for something glamorous to write home about.

The club was remodeled in 1939 and in 1957, but stayed a popular location for live music, with concerts by Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Peggy Lee and Nat "King" Cole.

[25] During the 1960s, the club continued hosting dance bands, but mixed in contemporary acts including Ray Charles, Don Ho, Buddy Greco, Al Martino, Liza Minnelli and Diana Ross & the Supremes.

[29] The new club was designed by Phyllis Mann and Harry Fox and decorated in shades of black, silver, purple, orange and pink with a new main entrance.

[30] The biggest stars of the Las Vegas strip were recruited, including Tony Bennett, Nancy Sinatra, Sonny & Cher, Aretha Franklin and Phyllis Diller.

[31] A new management team renamed the room "The Cocoanut Grove" and it reopened on October 31, 1972, with acts including The Four Tops, Jerry Van Dyke and Kaye Ballard, who worked for less than the bigger name stars.

As tastes changed, and the neighborhood around the hotel suffered gang and drug problems, the venue fell dark throughout much of the 1970s and 80s, with the exception of private parties, conventions and filming.