Success!!
I had business downtown today, and planned a side trip to the Rosslyn. I printed a big batch of old Rosslyn photos and L.A. Times articles as a gift, tried to dress well, and crossed my fingers -- having no idea what might happen.
I had read something about a multi-million dollar renovation, but that hasn't happened yet. The north building appears to be closed and unoccupied, the south wing is open but dark and dusty. In the old lobby, thick bulletproof glass wraps around the front desk, like in a bank. I waited until the gentleman behind the desk was free, made my pitch, and passed all the prints through a slot in the glass. The man was quite interested, appreciated the prints, and after listening to my story told me that indeed there was a tunnel beneath 5th Street connecting the two wings, and agreed to take me down there.
We walked over to a pitch black stairway on the left, descended to the bowels of the building, and had a look around. The first thing I noticed was "The Monterey Room", a long-closed bar with a Mexican theme. I immediately wondered whether this was the spot where the Rosslyn bar room murder took place in 1951. (I think this has been discussed on the thread before, but not sure.) The wall looks the same, but it seems the "Monterey" decor was part of a later remodel. Here's the USC photo, followed by the first of my (very poor
) shots.
The USC description is "Rosslyn Hotel bar death, 27 October 1951. Allen Burnell (Patron); Mary McCall (Patron); Joe Moore (Patron); George D. Miller -- 34 years (victim killed in bar room fight over juke box tune...The tune playing was "The Song Is Ended").
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...373-003~1?v=hr
I think this is where the murder took place, but it's hard to be sure. Here's the inside of the bar. I think it's more or less beneath the sidewalk beneath the south side of 5th Street. Sorry about the poor focus...it was very dark down there, and I didn't have much time...oh well.
OK, now here's the tunnel. This shot was taken from beneath 5th Street. I had to duck as I passed under that giant pipe. Hard to imagine well heeled guests actually using this to go back and forth but maybe the big pipe was added by the city in later years, and maybe the passageway was much more elegant when first built.
As we walked around the tunnel my guide confided to me that the hotel is haunted and that down in the tunnel one day he saw a female ghost. The form passed by him, then turned and ran down another hallway He seemed quite shaken, remembering this. I told him that looking through the L.A. Times articles that morning, I learned that there has been several murders and suicides in the hotel over the years. (More on this later.)
Finally, here is the door on the other end, now sealed tight, that used to lead to the north wing.
Very interesting visit; it was a great Friday the 13th for me. I celebrated by having lunch at the Colima Cafe, which I'd always been curious about. While preparing for today's adventure I found some other interesting Rosslyn photos and articles, will probably post some of those later.
