From the rather vague caption that was attached to this photo from 1941, it seems this crowd had gathered for an Easter Parade on what appears to be the grounds of the Ambassador Hotel. That road with the traffic is Wilshire Blvd and across the street are the Gaylord Apartments (named after Henry Gaylord Wilshire.) So these people have crowded together on both sides of—what do we call it? A runway? And did people walk down the middle showing off their Easter bonnets? Was that the whole show? Does anyone reading this know for sure?
The Ambassador Hotel is gone but the Gaylord Apartments are still with us, along with The HMS Bounty restaurant (which opened in 1962.) This is how they looked in June 2024.
I don’t know about this actual event, but I was surprised to see an episode of The Jack Benny Program a few years ago in which the plot involved going to the annual Easter Parade on Wilshire Boulevard. I recall online reading that it might also have been known as the Miracle Mile Easter Parade. IMDB also lists a Beverly Hills Easter Parade in 1959 that was also a TV special. I hadn’t heard about any of these things before.
The only Easter event I’d ever been aware of in Los Angeles was the annual Easter Sunrise Service at the Hollywood Bowl. It ran into some issues a decade or more ago and I don’t even know if it still occurs. I attended it once by myself and am so glad I did. Has anyone else done that?
This one that I posted back in 2019 shows the Wilshire Blvd Easter Parade. In fact, it was also taken in 1941
https://martinturnbull.com/2019/11/12/miracle-mile-easter-parade-traffic-heading-west-along-wilshire-blvd-at-kenmore-ave-easter-sunday-april-13-1941-2/
You and others would know better than me, but this doesn’t look like the Ambassador.
The Ambassador had a HUGE front lawn and that’s the Gaylord Apts across the street, so it’s definitely the Ambassador.