Brown Derby: Los Angeles
Hollywood’s Brown Derby restaurant was once a major haunt of the city’s legions of actors, producers, and artists, and lays claim to a heritage that includes a marriage proposal by Clark Gable to Carole Lombard.
Designed in the shape of a hat—hence the name—the restaurant was a legendary and central meeting spot for the rich and famous for generations. But in 1980, the restaurant shuttered abruptly and the building was destroyed, despite the protests of preservationists and film buffs.
Memorabilia salvaged from the demolition circulated for decades at auctions around the country.
