At the time, the Elks membership numbered thousands and included L.A.'s wealthy and powerful. The building contained 169 hotel rooms but was mainly designed for the Elk's activities and events, with lavish interiors, including an impressive spacious foyer, a huge ballroom that could be used as an auditorium, numerous dining rooms, a gymnasium, pool, and a bowling alley.
Designed as a memorial to World War I soldiers, the exterior features stylized Assyrian friezes, sculpted figures in military uniform, and massive cast stone warrior angels guarding the plinth and tower at every corner.
The lavish interior features an arched ceiling painted by famed muralist Anthony Heinsbergen, who purposely undercut the competition bidding for the job and toiled on his back while painting, like Michelangelo.
Heinsbergen later claimed that he rarely bothered with self-promotion again.
By the 1960s, following decades of declining membership and substantial losses at its Los Angeles lodge, the Elks could no longer maintain the building. It fell into general disrepair, and the Elks put it up for auction in 1966.
There have been dozens of movies and music videos, and concerts... you can read about the riots and punks etc at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Plaza_Hotel_(Los_Angeles)
But a Kenworth made for hauling cargo, that's a really strange vehicle to find Wood lites on
Marshfield is now known as Coos Bay, OR. The Portland-Roseburg-Marshfield route would have involved 180 miles down the Willamette Valley through farm country along Hwy 99 (later superceded by I-5), then 80 miles over the Coast Range along windy narrow Hwy 42. A full day's drive, and in the winter, usually rainy weather.
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