Bonus: The Fascinating History Behind the Mural in the Lobby

LA BiltmoreImages courtesy Biltmore Hotel

As Frank Young from the Millenium Hotel shared with us, the mural in the lobby (which used to be the music room) was installed in 1986. It was damaged in the 1994 earthquake and sat forgotten in storage in the Biltmore Hotel basement for years until one of the hotel concierges, Mahmoud Etemadi, decided to restore it. But Mahmoud made some key changes. “According to Mahmoud, says Young, “the original artist had sort of a naughty sense of humor and included a ‘male genitalia’ among the plants in the picture. During its restoration, Mr. Etemadi painted over the genitalia and changed it into a bird perched on a branch.”

Also check out our article Ten of Downtown Los Angeles’s Most Important Architectural Sites. Get in touch with the author @lauraitzkowitz.