Before The Luau opened in 1954, 427 North Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills was called The Tropics, which opened in 1936, making it one of the earliest venues with the Polynesian theme. But when I came across this photo, I wasn’t too sure what this medallion was. I turned to Susan Milner who lived in LA during the era my novels are set in, and confirmed my suspicion that this was a cloakroom token. In an era when men wore hats, the hat check stand was as much a part of a nightclub as the cigarette girls, both of which we never see anymore. That “T 4” at the bottom denoted which slot the attendant would put your hat into.

Susan also said: Cloakroom tokens varied in size and what they were made of. A lot of them were made of Bakelite. Some were made of wood. Others were made of pressed paper. This one looks like it might have been brass. I would say most were bigger than a quarter — more like the size of a half-dollar (about the size of a poker chip). However, a lady never checked her fur wraps. Some did check their heavier fur coats, but I never did — didn’t want to risk losing any of them!

See also The Beverly Hills Tropics restaurant