This rare gem comes from photos Dave DeCaro found on the USC digital archives. It shows the Garden of Alla (no “H” yet) under construction in 1926 when it was being converted from Alla Nazimova’s movie star mansion into a hotel. It’s hard to know, but I suspect the woman dressed in black might even be the infamous Mrs. Adams.. Mr. & Mrs. Adams were the people who approached Nazimova and suggested, now that she’d fallen on hard times, if she converted her 3.5 acre property into a hotel, it would provide her with a source of on-going income. It was a great idea but unfortunately they were crooks and ran off with a lot of her money. The hotel was successful, but it sent poor, trusting Nazimova into bankruptcy.