Yesterday (August 20, 2023) Los Angeles was subjected to a double-whammy: Hurricane Hilary, which brought rain and flooding, in the midst of which we also had a 5.1 earthquake. So I figured today I’d post freakish weather-related photograph: snow in LA! According to one list I saw, LA has had snow 19 times since 1882, but only twice this century. In this photo, we’re looking at “Gloria” the statue of a woman that adorned the start of the driveway that led from Wilshire Blvd to the Ambassador Hotel. From the looks of it, LA had quite a decent snowfall that day, and from the cars on Wilshire in the background was in the 1940s. If that’s right, this photo was taken in 1942, 1947, or 1949.
The “Gloria” statue was lost when the Ambassador Hotel closed in 1989 and demolished in 2006. This replica was made when the Robert F. Kennedy Community School opened on that site in 2010. This image is from February 2023.
Could it be soap suds? No snow anywhere else.
Exactly what I came to say. Besides any time we’ve gotten any snow, it was a tiny amount and melted almost immediately.
Looks more like soap suds to me.
I agree with everyone else it looks to be soap suds. Maybe they were cleaning the entrance?
I spent many happy hours at the Ambassador Hotel in the 1970s. I worked across the street. They used to film 1970s TV shows like “To Catch A Thief” and “Wonder Woman” there. I used to go over there, eat lunch and watch the filming. The hotel was beautiful & the food was great. Also, they used to have lots of shops in the hotel. There was an English shop that had lot’s of European food and products. I used to buy Dinki Toys for my son and chocolates for me.
On the day of the last episode of MASH, we had a little bit of snow, an earthquake, and a tornado that took the roof off the Convention Center. I remember thinking, “God really doesn’t want MASH to end!”