The Brown Derby legacy - ours is the last one left!

The Brown Derby is a world famous part of L.A. history.   At its peak, the Brown Derby was considered more famous than any movie star, even more famous than A-list stars like Jean Harlow, Bette Davis, John Barrymore and Frank Sinatra, who ate there often.   

And, yes - there was more than one Brown Derby restaurant.  

In the past, there were multiple Brown Derby locations around the city but now  Los Feliz is the only one left.   Our Derby is the last of the prominent Brown Derby restaurants from Hollywood's Golden Age still intact.

The Wilshire Brown Derby - 3427 Wilshire Blvd., then 3347 Wilshire Blvd. (built 1926, demolished 1980)

The first Brown Derby was built in 1926 at 3427 Wilshire Blvd, across from the Amabassador Hotel.  In 1937, it moved one block up the street to 3347 Wilshire Blvd, corner of Wilshire and Alexandria.  This location was the only Brown Derby location actually built in the shape of a Brown Derby hat.  It also had big neon sign on top that said "Eat in the Hat."  

This type of whimsical architecture was especially popular in California and was designed to catch the attention of passing motorists.  It is sometimes called "roadside vernacular" architecture or "programmatic" archicture.   As a recent USA Today article pointed out, these wacky eye-catching roadside buildings are being lost to the ravages of time and developers. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-11-20-la-kitsch_x.htm (article also mentions the fight to Save the Derby in Los Feliz).

For more information about roadside architecture, read Jim Heimann's classic book "California Crazy."

The Brown Derby was founded by Herb Somborn (ex-husband of Gloria Swanson), Wilson Mizner (a screenwriter) and Sid Graumann (of Chinese theater fame).  Bob Cobb was the general manager.  Bob Cobb is widely thought to be the original creator of the Cobb Salad, which was a Brown Derby specialty. 

Sadly, the Wilshire Brown Derby fell in popularity.  The restaurant was sold in 1975, retaining very little of its former glory. 

In 1980, a  strip mall replaced the restuarant and now stands on the former site.  The only reminder of the Brown Derby's glorious past? A small piece of the hat on second floor of a mini-mall called "Derby Plaza."   This is not our idea of preservation.  Is it yours?

Hollywood Brown Derby -1628 Vine Street (built 1929 - closed 1985, destroyed by fire 1987, demolished 1994)

The second Brown Derby opened on Valentine's Day in 1929.  It was in the center of Hollywood and visible from the corner of Hollywood and Vine, one of the most famous intersections in the world.  

Cecil B. DeMille was a part owner of the Hollywood location.  The building was designed by Carl Jules Weyl in the Spanish Colonial Style.  Interestingly, years later, after DeMille bought the Los Feliz site, he hired Weyl to redesign the pre-existing building located on the premises into the  Los Feliz Brown Derby.

Because it was so close to nearby film studios, the Hollywood Brown Derby was always packed with stars.  And where there are stars there is gossip.  (Gossip  columnists Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons held court during lunch hour - each at separate tables on opposite sides of the room.)

In 1939, Clark Gable proposed to Carol Lombard in Booth #5.  Marlene Deitrich caused a scene by showing up in trousers. Caricatures of famous actors lined the walls and telephones were brought right to your table.

Lucille Ball was another famous patron of the Brown Derby.  She imortalized the Hollywood location in a classic episode of the "I love Lucy" show called "L.A at last" (Episode #114, airing February 7, 1955).  In this episode from the show's fourth season,  Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel conclude their cross-country road trip and come to Hollywood so Ricky can be in the movies.   Lucy, star-struck as always, is determined to see some movie stars up close.  Where does she go?  To the Hollywood Brown Derby of course!  Sitting in a booth and pretending to read the menu, Lucy spies actor William Holden, madcaps follow and Derby history is made.

The episode was filmed on a set made to replicate the Hollywood Brown Derby but after the filming was completed, the cast had a screening party at the real Brown Derby - - in Los Feliz! 

The Hollywood Brown Derby stayed open through the 60's and 70's and underwent some remodeling but ultimately closed for business in 1985.  In 1987 most of the building was destroyed by a fire.  The remainder was demolished in 1994.  

Today, it's a parking lot.

Beverly Hills Brown Derby - 9537 Wilshire Blvd (built 1931, closed in 1982, demolished in 1983)

The third Brown Derby opened in 1931 at the corner of Wilshire and Rodeo in Beverly Hills.   Although the famous intersection remains, the restaurant has closed and even the building is long gone - the Brown Derby legacy replaced by yet another office building.

Los Feliz Brown Derby - 4500 Los Feliz Blvd (built 1940; still intact)

The fourth Brown Derby Restaurant opened in 1941 at 4500 Los Feliz Blvd. on the corner of Los Feliz and Hillhurst.  It was owned by film giant Cecil B. DeMille, a local resident and "founding father" of Los Feliz.  It was the only location to have a fine dining restaurant and a 24 hour drive-in "Car Cafe" together in the same place.  It also has a beautiful dome shaped roof of unique "Lamellar" construction. 

(For more information about the building's architecture, click here).

This building is still standing.  It is currently home to the Derby nightclub and Louise's Trattoria.   But developers have purchased the land and contemplate tearing down the Derby in order to build a large condo complex.

Brown Derby Re-Creations

Towards the very end of the Brown Derby empire, there were a handful of short-lived stores that sold Brown Derby merchandise and a couple restaurants trying to cash in on the Brown Derby name.   For example, there was briefly a Brown Derby store on Crenshaw but it lasted only a few years before becoming part of the IHOP franchise.   There was also a restaurant on Wilshire called the Hi Hat which tried to duplicate the winning Brown Derby formula but without success.  As a last ditch effort to keep the restaurant open, the founders actually renamed it the Brown Derby but it closed soon thereafter anyway.    

There have been recreations too.  Some still exist like the "Hollywood Brown Derby" at the Disney MGM Studios in Orlando.  Others, like the recreation in Pasadena, California and the recreation at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, are no longer in operation.

Wilshire at Alexandria - Gone

Vine near Hollywood - Gone

Wilshire at Rodeo - Gone

Los Feliz at Hillhurst - ????

We have a world famous gem in our own backyard.  We have the last Brown Derby restaurant right here in Los Feliz.  Don't wait for some giant entertainment studio to recreate in fantasy what the bulldozers have destroyed in real life.  Get involved and Save the Derby:

1.     Sign our Online Petition

2.     Write to Key Decision Makers

3.     Attend Important Meetings

4.     Join our Email List  list@savethederby.org) 

_______________________________________________________________________________

If you want to learn more about the Brown Derby Restaurant and its iconic role in LA history, check out recent press coverage generated by the Save the Derby Coalition. 

Or take a look at these great books and internet sites:  

Hollywood (1900-1950) in Vintage Postcards (by Tommy Dangcil) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/073852073X/103-9932371-1118254?v=glance&n=283155 

The Brown Derby Restaurant - A Hollywood Legacy (by Sally Wright Cobb, wife of Brown Derby owner and Cobb Salad creator Bob Cobb) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0847819256/103-9932371-1118254?n=283155 

LA Time Machines - http://www.latimemachines.com/new_page_25.htm

Academy Exhibit Brings Back the Brown Derby - http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2002/02.04.16.html

The Wonderful Nightclubs - http://nfo.net/usa/niteclub.htm

Sports Hollywood - http://www.sportshollywood.com/hollywoodcobb.html