Brown Derby on Wilshire Boulevard

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The intersection of Wilshire Boulevard (foreground) and S. Alexandria Avenue (left), right outside the Brown Derby Restaurant. An original "Wilshire Lantern" street light is seen on the corner.The Brown Derby had four locations: Beverly Hills, Los Feliz, Hollywood, and Wilshire Boulevard. The first Brown Derby Restaurant, shown here, was built in 1926 and is generally referred to as the "Wilshire Brown Derby." Designed in part by J.R. Davidson, it measured 28 feet in diameter and 17 1/2 feet in height and was the only one of the four restaurant buildings that resembled a bowler hat. It was first located at 3427 Wilshire Boulevard, across the street from the Ambassador Hotel, but was later moved one block over to 3347 Wilshire Boulevard. In 1975, it was closed and sold. After the restaurant was demolished in 1980, the shell of the hat-shaped dome was restored, painted orange, and incorporated into the design of the Brown Derby Plaza, a strip mall at 3377 Wilshire Boulevard.