Vintage Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles, CA postcard unposted mid-century

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Vintage Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles, CA postcard unposted mid-century:
$5.50

I have for sale one vintage mid-centuryBiltmore Hotel Los Angeles, CApostcard. This historical postcard was never mailed.
The front of the card states, \"THE LOS ANGELES BILTMORE\".
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Returns accepted. Thank you for your business!
TheMillennium Biltmore Hotel, originally named theLos Angeles Biltmore Hotelof theBiltmore Hotelsgroup, is a luxuryhotellocated across the street fromPershing SquareinDowntown Los Angeles,California, US. Upon its grand opening in 1923, the Los Angeles Biltmore was the largest hotel west ofChicago, Illinoisin theUnited States.[1]In 1969 the Biltmore Hotel was designated aLos Angeles Historic-Cultural Monumentby theCity of Los Angeles. Regal Hotels purchased the Biltmore in 1996, and then sold it in 1999 to Millennium & Copthorne Hotels.[2]As of 2009, the Los Angeles Biltmore is operated as part of theMillennium & Copthorne Hotelschain as the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. The hotel has 70,000 square feet (6,500m2) of meeting and banquet space. From its original 1500 guestrooms it now has 683, due to room reorganization.[3]
The architectural firmSchultze & Weaverdesigned the Biltmore\'s exterior in a synthesis of the Spanish-ItalianRenaissance Revival,Mediterranean Revival, andBeaux Artsstyles, meant as an homage to theCastilianheritage of Los Angeles. The \"Biltmore Angel\" is heavily incorporated into the design—as a symbol of the city as well as the Biltmore itself. With a thick steel and concrete frame, the structure takes up half a city block and rises over 11 stories.
The interiors of the Biltmore Hotel are decorated with:frescosandmurals; carvedmarblefountainsand columns; massive wood-beamed ceilings;travertineand oak paneled walls;lead crystalchandeliers; castbronzestairwells and doorways; fineartisanmarquetryand mill work; and heavilyembroideredimportedtapestriesand draperies. Most notable are the frescoed mural ceilings in the main Galleria and the Crystal Ballroom, which were hand painted in 1922 by Italian artist Giovanni Smeraldi, known for his work in theVaticanand theWhite House. Smeraldi and his team famously painted the ballroom\'s colorful, seamless fresco over a period of seven months, decorating it with figures of Greek and Roman gods, angels, cupids and other mythological creatures. It was meticulously restored in the 1980s by Smeraldi\'s apprentice,Anthony Heinsbergen. The imported Austrian crystal chandeliers that adorn it are 12 feet (3.7m) in diameter.
The Rendezvous Court, once the hotel\'s lobby but now used primarily for afternoon tea, is decorated with aMoorish Revivalstyled plaster ceiling painted with24 Carat Goldaccents, two original imported Italian chandeliers from 1923, and a grandSpanish Baroque Revivalbronze doorway, whose astrologicalclockstill keeps time today. Two figures appear on the stairwell front—on the left is theRoman goddessof agricultureCeres, while on the right is the Spanish explorerVasco Núñez de Balboa. The current lobby at the hotel\'s Grand Avenue entrance still has its original travertine walls and oak paneling as well as the large artificial skylighted ceiling, reflected in the custom carpet below.