The It Cafe was at 1637 Vine St in the lobby of the Plaza Hotel near the corner of Hollywood and Vine, and was opened by “It Girl” Clara Bow and her husband Rex Bell on September 3rd, 1937. It had a zodiac motif and was popular with Bow’s silent movies era pals. This same space was, earlier in the 1930s, called the Russian Eagle Cafe & Gardens and counted Garbo among its regulars.
- 1925 to 1928 – Klemtner’s Blue Plate Café
- 1928 – 1931 – Pig “N Whistle Café
- 1931 to 1936 – Russian Eagle Café
- Dec 17, 1936 to Sept 1937 – Cinnabar
- Sept 1937 – It Café (owned by Clara Bow for about a year, then changed management)
- 1944 – Les Comiques
- 1952 – Westerner Lounge-Grill
View of the It Cafe foyer, from the inside looking toward the front door:
Clara Bow and her husband Rex Bell in one of the booths:
After Clara Bow sold out, it later became Phil Selznick’s It Café (Phil Selznick was David O. Selznick’s uncle and in the 1950s, opened Phil Selznick’s Blue Evening in Toluca Lake.)
First picture I’ve seen of the It Cafe after hearing about it from my Dad. He promoted Rumba contests there in the late 30s. Have some great interior pics of the contests for anyone who may be interested. His name is Alfonso Cervantes who went on to become the Mayor of St. Louis where he returned after WW2.
Would be curious to know what year Mr. Selznick took it over.
Thanks for all of your great work.
Hi AJ and thanks for your note.
I would *LOVE* to see ANY photos you have of the interior of the It Cafe! That would be wonderful! Any time you have a chance to scan them and send them to me and I’ll post them on my site and Facebook page.
I look forward to hearing back from you!
I am renting this place ……………… love this place……………… 1637 Vine st. hollywood
Really? You’re in this space now? What sort of place do you have?
My great grandfather is Phil Selznick! This is very neat to see a picture of why my grandpa (Jack Selznick) moved to Los Angeles. I am going to pass the info onto my grandpa (he is 87). He gets a kick out of this stuff!
Hey Brandy,
Wow! Your great grandpa is Phil Selznick??? What a kick!
If Grandpa Jack has any information, memories, or photographs to share, I would LOVE to read, hear and see anything and everything!
Thanks so much for writing!
Brandy …. My name is Ermanno and I’m renting this space , we would love to see your Grandpa come by when we open … Chocolate Bar…. A coffee house . You can call me if you like …323.481.7596
The Westerner at the Hollywood Plaza was operated by Carl Ferraro of Dresden Room fame. The Blood and Sand cocktail was introduced there by Carl. Carl also had a restaurant at the Lido at Wilcox and Yucca.