Vintage Restaurant Menu Villa Riviera Cafe Ocean Blvd Long Beach CA 1930s

Description

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Estate sale find, vintage original Villa Riviera Cafe menu, W.T. "Billy" Everitt, Manager, 800 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, California, circa 1930's.
Built from 1927 to 1929 at a cost of .75 million, the Villa Riviera is a 16-story French Gothic Building.  At the time, it was the second-tallest building in Southern California after Los Angeles City Hall.  The structure is topped with a steeply pitched verdigris copper roof. The building was designed by architect Richard King who won a grand prize at an international contest for the design that he referred to as "Tudor Gothic."
Shortly after the Villa Riviera opened, the Great Depression hit, and the demand for luxury cooperative apartments declined. Also, the first tenants reportedly "didn't see eye-to-eye and the building subsequently was sold and turned into an apartment-hotel."
In 1933, the high-rise Villa Riviera was shaken violently in the Long Beach earthquake but did not sustain structural damage.
In 1937, silent film star Norma Talmadge and her ex-husband Joseph M. Schenck, president of 20th Century Fox, bought the building for .5 million. The Los Angeles Times reported that "the deal was one of the largest realty transactions in Southern California in several years." Talmadge lived in the penthouse for a time.
During World War II, several U.S. Navy officers lived at the Villa Riviera.] The turret-like tower atop the building was used by the Navy to spot enemy ships off the Southern California coast.
In the 1940s and early 1950s, the Villa Riviera was known as the "Home of Admirals" due to its being the home of many of the senior officers of the United States Pacific Fleet.   In 1955, the building was purchased by the Morris Hotel chain for .75 million.
Within months, the new owner converted the building to its original use as a residential "own-your-own" cooperative building. Despite the conversion, the owners kept the hotel's cocktail lounge, beauty salon, coffee shop, dining room and valet service for the convenience of the cooperative residents.
The first Miss Universe Pageant was held at the Villa Riviera in 1952. Marine Corps and Navy officers acted as escorts, one for each contestant.
The item measures approximately 7" X 10", approximate shipping weight 5 ounces
PLEASE SEE DESCRIPTION AND PHOTOS FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS  -  The item is in overall Fair to Good Minus used condition, signs of wear, creases, fading, tears, sunning and age toning, soiling, stains, no writing, no odors, please see images.
(C1B7-107)