Lombard Street in San Francisco, California

Often referred to as "that famous winding road", Lombard Street is an iconic attraction in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. Bustling with tourists and cars lined up at the top waiting to make the drive down, it's not always as tranquil as the postcards make it look. That being said, a little chaos sometimes makes the experience.

Coit Tower in the distance.

Motown Museum | Hitsville U.S.A. Detroit

In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. purchased this house at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan and began a music empire. With an office and recording studio on the main floor and his residence upstairs, this unassuming home is where the "Motown sound" was born. Soon after it became better known by its nickname, Hitsville U.S.A.

Not to downplay the incredible story, but the gamble on this new style and brand of music paid off massively. Over the next few years Motown grew to occupy seven more houses on the block as the business evolved from a family operation to an international enterprise. Artists like the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and the Jackson 5 all recorded here in Studio A. 

By 1968 Motown had moved into an office building in downtown Detroit, before finally making the leap to Los Angeles in 1972. In those Detroit years (1959-1972) Motown had produced over 110 top 10 hits and had solidified itself as one of the defining brands and sounds of the sixties. 

Since 1985 Hitsville U.S.A has been a working museum. On our recent trip to Detroit, my Dad and I ended up getting a private tour of the facility (sadly no photography was allowed inside). We had an amazing guide who walked us through the exhibits and history, and then we happily embarrassed ourselves by singing "My Girl" in Studio A. We definitely need more practice, but it was a lot of fun and incredibly humbling to explore a space connected to so many legends.    

A few of the souvenirs I picked up.

Ambassador Hotel Location in Los Angeles

Located at 3400 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, the former Ambassador Hotel was one of the preeminent hotels in the city for decades. After opening in 1921, it was the Cocoanut Grove, the Ambassador's nightclub, that regularly attracted headlines as one of Hollywood's early hangouts. From 1930 to 1943, six Academy Award ceremonies were hosted here.

On June 5, 1968 while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in the Embassy Ballroom. Five others were also shot that night, but survived. It was shortly after that the Ambassador Hotel began to decline, accelerated by an increase in crime in the surrounding neighborhood.

By 1989 the Ambassador Hotel had closed its doors, but remained popular as a filming location for numerous productions. After much debate, litigation, and public protest to save the structure, it was decided that the former hotel would be demolished in 2005.

One of the original pillars along Wilshire Boulevard still marks the hotel. 

Today a complex comprised of six schools sits on the location of the former hotel, known as the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools. When viewed from Wilshire Boulevard the school has a similar shape to the hotel it replaced, although with exception to the entrance and east wall of the Grove, it is an entirely new structure. 

Along Wilshire the original pillars to the Ambassador Hotel entrance remain, and the Robert F. Kennedy Inspiration Park was constructed. It's quite something to stand in a location that resembles something historic, but recognize how much has actually changed.      

Entrance to the Ambassador Hotel in the 1950's.

Vintage postcard of the Ambassador Hotel.

Vintage postcard of the Ambassador Hotel.