A little girl dancing with jockeys at a grown up social. A young man having a drink and the time of his life with his pals. A married couple celebrating their 25th anniversary. No matter where a person is in his or her life, a visit to the Cockatoo Inn is often a memorable encounter….
Throughout its time, the Cockatoo Inn was home to many events: anniversaries, banquets, retirement dinners, and more. We’ve uncovered awards ceremonies for local colleges, family reunions, and even political events with celebrities like Muhammad Ali. One July evening in 1961 saw the Lawndale Business and Professional Women’s Club come together for an International Relations event….
Imagine being a 6 year-old in the 1960s, walking into the grandeur that was the Cockatoo Inn. In its prime, the Cockatoo drew patrons from all corners. Recently, one lucky lad sent us his memory, feasting like royalty in the dining room decorated in ‘ye olde English’ style. This is the brief tale of Eric…
Quentin Tarantino shot some of his Jackie Brown scenes at the Cockatoo Inn, as we all know. But it wasn’t as easy as setting up shop inside the condemned building. The famed hotel was buried in bureaucracy during the mid 1990s. So how did they get in? According to an interview in LA Taco, prolific…
Over the years, the Cockatoo has had many employees, managers, proprietors – all the people who contributed to make it the memorable landmark it was. Recently, we learned about someone who statedly worked at the Cockatoo, bartender Allan Rivelli. Early Days Originally from Providence, Rhode Island, Allan Rivelli was listed in the 1940 US Census…
Andy Lococo and his prized hotel and restaurant are a big part of 20th century American history. However, this month we celebrate a somewhat forgotten figure whose important midcentury work still impact us today. Roy A. Sealey was born in 1917, one year prior to Andy Lococo’s birth. The prominent African-American architect played an integral…
Actor Ray Liotta died today in the Dominican Republic. He was 67. He was there shooting his latest film, “Dangerous Waters.” After news broke of his death, social media saw many tributes pour in. Liotta is probably best known to audiences for his starring role in the 1990 Martin Scorcese epic, Goodfellas. Based on the…
Usually Super Bowls are played at neutral sites, but this year’s Super Bowl LVI in Inglewood, California will be a home game for the NFC Champion Los Angeles Rams. When they take on the underdog Cincinnati Bengals this February 13, 2022, all eyes will be upon SoFi Stadium, the former site of Hollywood Park Racetrack….
Recently, we connected with Peter Conway, who says he was once a cook at the Cockatoo Inn. Peter was nice enough to let us ask him a few questions about his time there! Where are you from originally? Peter: I was born in Hawthorne Hospital, and we lived in Inglewood. We moved in with my…
We are not overly active on social media, but our Cockatoo Inn Instagram allowed us to connect with Mary McPadden-Bigda. She was very nice and reminisced about her time working at the Cockatoo in the late ’80s and early ’90s. She was gracious enough to answer some questions about her tenure, her experience with Stan…