Ebell of Los Angeles

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Ebell of Los Angeles

| nrhp_type =

| image = Ebell of Los Angeles, Los Angeles.JPG

| caption = Ebell of Los Angeles, Wilshire frontage

| location = 743 S. Lucerne Boulevard, Los Angeles, California

| coordinates = {{coord|34|3|42|N|118|19|27|W|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin =

| area =

| built = 1927

| architect = Hunt, Sumner P.; Schofield Engineering & Construction

| architecture = Italian Renaissance

| added = May 6, 1994

| refnum = 94000401{{NRISref|2008a}}

| designated_other1 = LAHCM

| designated_other1_date = 1982-08-25{{cite web |url=http://preservation.lacity.org/monuments |title=Designated Historic-Cultural Monuments | Office of Historic Resources, City of Los Angeles |access-date=2011-10-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002104315/http://www.preservation.lacity.org/monuments/ |archive-date=2011-10-02 }}

| designated_other1_number = 250

}}

The Ebell of Los Angeles is a women-led and women-centered nonprofit housed in a historic campus in the Mid-Wilshire section of Los Angeles, California. It includes numerous performance spaces, meeting rooms, classrooms, and the 1,238-seat Wilshire Ebell Theatre. The Ebell works to uplift the Los Angeles community through arts, learning, and service.

The campus has been owned and operated since 1927 by the Ebell of Los Angeles women's organization, which was formed in Los Angeles in 1894.Jennier Steinhauer, [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/us/10ebell.html "A Sanctuary for Women, Even Today"], The New York Times, Aug. 9, 2010. Since 1927, the Wilshire Ebell Theatre has hosted musical performances and lectures by world leaders and top artists. Among other events, the Ebell was the site of aviator Amelia Earhart's last public appearance before attempting the 1937 around-the-world flight during which she disappeared. It is also the place where Judy Garland was discovered while performing as Baby Frances Gumm in the 1930s.

Formation and early years

File:Exterior view of the Ebell Club, a two-story Spanish colonial building on Figueroa Street, ca.1900-1909 (CHS-5319).jpg in Downtown L.A.]]

Ebell of Los Angeles was formed as a women's club in 1894, based on the principles and teachings of Adrian Ebell, a pioneer in women's education and organizing women's societies in the late 19th century. Harriet Williams Russell Strong was a founder of the club, serving as its president for three consecutive terms. The minutes of the first meeting of Ebell of Los Angeles identified its purpose "to interest women in the study of all branches of literature, art and science and the advancement of women in every branch of culture."{{cite news|title=Ebell's History Is Rich in Culture, Philanthropy|publisher=The Ebell of Los Angeles|date=June 1994|url=http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/02/242.pdf}} The club adopted as its motto, "I will find a way or make one -- I serve."

Over the years, the group has conducted classes, and hosted lectures and seminars, on topics including psychology, parliamentary law, travel, literature, music, gardening, and science. Even before moving to its current quarters, it actively promoted the arts, as when from May 23 to July 25, 1919, it sponsored a marathon ten-week series of chamber music recitals by the Zoellner Quartet.[https://archive.today/20121215105150/http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/tc&CISOPTR=24217&REC=1 University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa Digital Library, advertisement for Zoellner Quartet from Musical America], August 16, 1919, accessed June 3, 2012.

New building on Wilshire Boulevard

File:Mrs. Charles Hulbert Toll, 1922 President of Ebell of Los Angeles, Who's who among the women of California.jpg |date=4 January 1902 |location=|via=newspapers.com |pages=16}}) Mrs. Charles Hulbert Toll,{{cite web |title=Charles Hulbert Toll |url=https://cityclerk.lacity.org/chronola/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.FacultyDetail&OfficeHolderID=886 |website=City of Los Angeles Officials |publisher=cityclerk.lacity.org |access-date=23 April 2025}} 1922 President of Ebell of Los Angeles, Who's who among the women of California]]

In 1923, the group announced plans to build a new clubhouse and theater west of downtown on Wilshire Boulevard.{{cite news|title=Activities and Interests of Women, in and Outside of Homes: Ebell to Build New Home; Spacious lot on boulevard acquired by directors; construction of $500,000 structure planned|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1923-02-16}} Before construction began, the lot at Wilshire Boulevard and Shatto Place had appreciated and was sold for a profit;{{cite web|title=Ebell Highlights|publisher=Los Angeles Public Library|date=1969-07-10|url=http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/02/185075.pdf}} a new lot at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Lucerne was purchased in 1925.{{cite news|title=Ebell Obtains Building Site: Handsome Lot Purchased on Wilshire Corner; Campaign for Clubhouse to Open This Fall|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1925-08-16}}{{cite news|title=Of Interest to Women: Ebell Building Starts at Once; Location Wilshire Boulevard at Burck Place; Property Will Have Value of $1,225,000; Club's Investments Have Realized Profits|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1925-10-21}}

The group commissioned architect Sumner P. Hunt of Hunt & Burns to design the new facility,{{cite news|title=Hunt Named Ebell Club Architect: Work on New Building at Lucerne and Wilshire to Await Plans Completion|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1926-03-13}} which was designed in an Italian style with plaster facing and Italian clay tile roofing.{{cite news|title=Ebell Club to Start Building: Work on New Structure to Begin Next Month; Cost of Enterprise Placed at $700,000; Contract Awarded as Plans Are Completed|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1926-11-21}} The new facilities consisted of multiple structures covering a site {{convert|160|×|450|ft}}, surrounding a {{convert|65|×|120|ft|adj=on}} patio area. The new facilities included a new 1,300-seat auditorium at the rear of the property facing 8th Street. The two-story structure facing Wilshire Boulevard houses the group's clubhouse, including a large lounge, art salon, and dining room.{{cite news|title=Ebell Lays Its Corner-Stone: Club Women Conduct Rites at Wilshire Building; Mrs. William Read Gives History of Function; Contractors and Architects Join in Ceremony|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1927-03-01}} The dining room opens to a tile-roofed colonnade walkway and fountain.

File:Ebell Magazine vol 1 no 1.jpg

The clubhouse opened with a musicale tea in October 1927,{{cite news|title=Clubhouse to Open with Tea: Ebell Schedules First Event in Home October 3; Initial Week Reserved for Members Only; Musicale to Follow Honor Reception Hour|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1927-09-11}}{{cite news|title=Los Angeles Ebell Club's New Home on Wilshire Dedicated: Tribute Paid to President; Packed Auditorium Listens to Little Symphony; Education Fund Donated by Flints Acknowledged; First Department Luncheon to be Held Today|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1927-10-04}}{{cite web|title=Musical Tea to be First Ebell Party: Launch Ebell Fall Program with Brilliant Afternoon Function|publisher=Ebell|date=October 1927|url=http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/08/518430.pdf}} and the Wilshire Ebell Theater, originally known as the Windsor Square Playhouse, opened to the public in December 1927 with the west coast premiere of Sigmund Romberg's musical The Desert Song.{{cite news|title=Wilshire Ebell Theater Is Scene of Premiere Musical, Theatre Events|publisher=The Ebell of Los Angeles|date=June 1994|url=http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/02/242.pdf}} When the buildings opened, the group's president wrote in the club's newsletter:

The result of their tireless and unceasing labor may be seen at 4400 Wilshire Boulevard where a stately group of buildings now adorns a sightly eminence. The separated units have been so carefully designed as to form a magnificent mass, a colossal edifice, severely simple, classically correct, pleasing in its very ruggedness, elegant in its ornate adornment, suited to the purpose for which it was built.{{cite web|title=The President's Greeting: Ebell Enters Period of Dazzling Enterprise, Says Mrs. Read|publisher=Ebell|date=October 1927|url=http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/08/518430.pdf}}

The total cost was $200,000 for the site, $650,000 for the entire structure, and $120,000 for the furnishings. Another writer observed: "Nowhere in America is there a more magnificent women's club house than the new home of Ebell. ... Every modern convenience and appliance, together with furnishings of the finest quality, are within its walls. It is lavish, but not flamboyantly so. It is practical and it has beauty and inspiring charm."{{cite web|title=Marking Another Ebell Milestone: New Edifice Stands as One of America's Finest Club Buildings|publisher=Ebell|date=October 1927|url=http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/08/518430.pdf}}

The 1,300-seat theater is known for its acoustics and its Barton pipe organ. The Los Angeles Times in 2003 described the theater as "the grande dame of genteel grace," "a cultural centerpiece for Los Angeles," and "one of the area's most striking" auditoriums.{{cite news|author=Bob Pool|title=Surroundings Wilshire District: Showplace From Another Era Is an Active Heirloom; Built by women, the Wilshire Ebell Theare has been a beehive of entertainment and learning since 1927|work=Los Angeles Times|date=2003-11-27}}

Notable performances

File:Wilshire_Ebell_Theater_With_Directional_Sign_in_Background,_2015.png

File:Box_office_of_Wilshire_Ebell_Theater,_Los_Angeles,_2015.png

In more than eighty years of productions, the Wilshire Ebell has witnessed performances by many stars and celebrities, but some stand out from the rest.

Young Judy Garland, then known as Baby Frances Gumm, first auditioned on the Wilshire Ebell Theater stage, and was discovered while performing there.{{cite news|title=Adrians, Juniors Assist in Furthering Ebel Programs|publisher=The Ebell of Los Angeles|date=June 1994|url=http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/02/242.pdf}} MGM producer George Sidney later described Garland's first audition this way: "I had made Judy's first screen test. There was a theater here in Los Angeles called the Wilshire-Ebell. ... [T]hey used to put on vaudeville acts on certain nights of the week. This little girl came out with her two sisters and her mother playing the piano. She did a little number with a baseball bat. We took her out to the studio and made a test on a soundstage..."{{cite book|author=Ronald L. Davis|title=Just making movies: company directors on the studio system, p. 71|url=https://archive.org/details/justmakingmovies00davi|url-access=registration|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi|year=2005|isbn=1-57806-691-3}} And in his biography of Garland, Gerold Frank described an early performance on the Wilshire Ebell stage, witnessed by another MGM producer, Joseph L. Mankiewicz: "Judy sang. And in his seat, Joe Mankiewicz, who was to win half a dozen Oscars as a screenwriter and director, underwent a memorable experience. He sat transfixed. Not only the power, but something electric ..."{{cite book|author=Gerold Frank|title=Judy, p. 57|publisher=Da Capo Press|year=1999|isbn=0-306-80894-3}} Mankewicz met the 13-year-old Garland backstage at the Ebell and determined to bring her name to the studio's attention.
In 1937, Amelia Earhart made her last public appearance and speech at the Ebell before leaving for her ill-fated around-the-world flight.{{cite web|author=Ron Larson|title=A Convergence of Legends at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre|publisher=Masters of Harmony|url=http://www.mastersofharmony.org/view_article/index.php?id=141&PHPSESSID=ae229662cbaf8e7fee9402a2dab58b01}}{{cite web|title=Wilshire Ebell Theater|publisher=LA.com|url=http://www.la.com/nightlife/Wilshire_Ebell_Theatre.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070614052906/http://www.la.com/nightlife/Wilshire_Ebell_Theatre.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2007-06-14}}
On February 2, 1938, Korean dancer Choi Seung-hee performed a costumed "recital of peasant, court and war dances"{{Cite news|title=Korean Artist Dances Tonight on Ebell Stage|date=February 2, 1938|work=Los Angeles Times}} on the Ebell stage as part of a United States tour which included the Guild Theatre in New York City.{{Cite news|last=Martin|first=John|title=Sai Shoki is Seen in Korean Dances: Young Oriental Artist Offers Her Second Program Here|date=November 7, 1938|work=New York Times}}{{Cite news|title=Famed Korean Dancer|date=January 30, 1938|work=Los Angeles Times}}
In late 1948, Polish-born local artist Stan Poray was headlining an exhibition of paintings at the Ebell when he died during a layover in a New York City airport, returning from a lecturing and exhibiting tour in Caracas, Venezuela.{{cite news |title=Stan P. Poray, Painter Dies |access-date=4 June 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=October 19, 1948 |page=14|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/165880521|id={{ProQuest|165880521}} }}
On April 10, 1964, Glenn Gould gave his final public performance at the Ebell.{{cite book|last=Bazzana|first=Kevin|title=Wondrous Strange: The Life and Art of Glenn Gould|year=2004|page=[https://archive.org/details/wondrousstrangel00bazz/page/22 22]|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=0-19-517440-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/wondrousstrangel00bazz/page/22}}. Among the pieces he performed that night were Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 30, selections from Bach's The Art of Fugue, and the Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 92 No. 4 by Ernst Krenek. A recording exists in which Gould says the event took place in Chicago.
Two years before his assassination, Filipino opposition leader and Ferdinand Marcos critic Benigno S. Aquino Jr. held a freedom rally speech at the theater on February 15, 1981; sharing his life and struggle under the martial law dictatorship for the jam-packed crowd of Filipino and American audience.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHyJYcUIUjg |title=YouTube - An NATv EXCLUSIVE: Ninoy Aquino's memorable speech in Los Angeles! (1 of 9) |publisher=Youtube.com |access-date=2009-01-15}}

Renovation and historic designation

A major restoration of the Ebell complex commenced in 1989. The theater's seats were re-covered, the stage refitted, and new sound and lighting systems installed. Renovation work also extended to the main dining room (also known as the Concert Hall), the Grand Salon and Lounge, the Galleria, and the Art Salon.{{cite news|title=Restoration Committee Returns Building to Original Elegance|publisher=The Ebell of Los Angeles|date=June 1994|url=http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/02/242.pdf}}

In recent years,{{when|date=October 2018}} the events held at the Wilshire Ebell Theater have reflected the ethnic diversity of the neighborhood, with shows staged in Persian, Korean, and Russian. It has also been the site of annual "Divas Simply Singing" benefits for AIDS, featuring singers Nancy Wilson, Roberta Flack, Rita Moreno, and Toni Tennille.

The building has been designated as a historic structure at the local, state and national levels, including the following recognition:

The Ebell was declared a Los Angeles Cultural Historic Monument in 1982.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
It has also been designated an Official American Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Notable Members

Lillie Stella Acer Ballagh
Ida I. Bellows, president from 1910 to 1912
Pearlretta DuPuy, charter member
Mabel Barnett Gates, first vice-president
Betty Gilmore{{cite book|last1=Binheim|first1=Max|last2=Elvin|first2=Charles A|title=Women of the West; a series of biographical sketches of living eminent women in the eleven western states of the United States of America|date=1928|url=https://archive.org/details/womenofwestserie00binh|access-date=8 August 2017}}{{PD-notice}}
Shirlee Taylor Haizlip, appointed president in 2000 and 2010
Mabel D. Mullin
Dora A. Stearns

References

External links

[http://www.ebellla.com The Ebell of Los Angeles website]
[https://archive.today/20100821133945/http://www.ebellla.com/operating The Ebell Theater of Los Angeles RBN]
[http://www.preservela.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=171&Itemid=37 PreserveLA.com]

Category:Clubhouses in California

Category:Women's club buildings in California

Category:Mid-City, Los Angeles

Category:Theatres in Los Angeles

Category:Clubs and societies in California

Category:Organizations based in Los Angeles

Category:Women's clubs in the United States

Category:Women's organizations based in the United States

Category:History of women in California

Category:Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments

Category:Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles

Category:Organizations established in 1894