A superior-court judge in Los Angeles has given the Los Angeles Unified School District the go-ahead to demolish much of the historic Ambassador Hotel to build three new schools.
The court dismissed a lawsuit filed by historic preservationists, celebrities, and politicians who want to save the entire structure. The 740,000-student district had agreed it would not proceed with its work until the lawsuit could be decided.
The district has not yet set a date for the demolition, because it wants to ensure that no further appeals are filed, said Shannon Johnson, a spokeswoman for the district’s construction division. She added the schools are still slated to open in 2007 and 2008.
The 85-year-old hotel is considered historically significant because it was a swank hangout for movie stars in the 1930s and the site of Democratic presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1968.
