Ambassador Hotel

We appreciate Christopher Hawthorne’s thoughtful exploration of the Ambassador Hotel issue (“The Equivocal City,” Jan. 9). We agree with Hawthorne that the Ambassador is “overflowing with architectural and cultural significance” and is worth saving. Along with a diverse coalition of community groups, we also agree that the L.A. Unified School District (LAUSD) should find a solution for the Ambassador that works. The Los Angeles Conservancy, working with top Los Angeles architects, engineers, and development professionals, spent 2 1/2 years repeatedly proving that the Ambassador can convert successfully into a school at a cost far lower than the LAUSD estimated. If the LAUSD flatly refuses to reuse the Ambassador as a school, it can still meet all of its programmatic requirements by building new school facilities on the 18 acres surrounding the main hotel building. This frees up a host of viable options for the main building, from affordable housing and community services to housing and/or training for teachers.

Our children should not be robbed of our history.

Roland A. Wiley

Los Angeles

Roland A. Wiley is the president of the board of directors for the Los Angeles Conservancy.

*

Re the debate over the fate of the Ambassador Hotel: What strikes me as the best use of the hotel would be to keep the beautiful place as it is and allow the women and children who now sleep on the city streets to have a safe place to call home.

Let’s get real, L.A., and show mercy and compassion for those without a place to go.

Carol Eastman

Santa Margarita