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…
Love it or hate it, Facebook has made it easy to locate old classmates, no matter what town you’re from or what town you currently live. Many of those old friends are just a search away, accessible from your own home. Well, back in 1968, a group of graduates and students didn’t have the luxury…
As we slowly start to open up physical spaces, people are itching to visit places like restaurants, movie theaters and bowling alleys. That got us to remembering something we came across years ago – Andy Lococo’s Cockatoo Inn had an actual, competitive bowling team! The Cockatoo bowling club was simply known as the “Cockatoo Club”…
FEB 15, 1988 – 33 years ago today, the late Los Angeles County Supervisor, Kenneth Hahn, held a campaign brunch to run for an unprecedented 10th term. Rumors of a famous and staunch supporter arriving circulated the room. Soon, people felt the presence of Muhammad Ali at the Cockatoo Inn. Beginnings Up until that point…
Sometimes it’s hard to believe this little mid-century hotel and restaurant touched so many people from all over the world. No matter their origins or circumstances, they all seem to agree on the Cockatoo Inn’s magical charms. Even when visiting the Cockatoo during the 1992 LA riots. Through our Twitter (@cockatooinn), we met one such…
We’re thankful for our users’ many stories over the years. They help make connections to people and places, especially right here in Southern California! This recent contribution came to us via Becky Cortez, who recalled some great lunch memories at the Cockatoo with her grandfather. She writes: My grandfather owned a furniture store in Inglewood…
Pre-Cockatoo Era The history of the Cockatoo is set against the backdrop of a fast-growing Los Angeles. Population in Los Angeles County spiked from 170K in 1900 to 2.2M by 1930. Tumultuous times saw a stock market crash that closed the lid on the roaring twenties. After Prohibition and The Great Depression, the world was…
Recently, we had a brief chat with former Cockatoo employee, Favian Gonzales. He was a room service waiter from 1989 to 1994, just before the Cockatoo closed. We were excited to ask him some questions about his time there. CockatooInn.com: How did you first get hired? FG: I was first hired by a friend from…
Coronavirus has sometimes made us forget that 2020 is an election year. While 2020 has been called one of the most turbulent years in recent memory, 1968 definitely gives it a run for its money. Coincidentally, that was also the year when Cockatoo Inn owner Andy ran for office. Spoiler Alert Andy Lococo was nearing…
As we’ve documented before, the Cockatoo Inn went through some tough times over the decades. One of its toughest challenges came in 1958, when a fire ripped through the successful establishment and destroyed it entirely. At the time, a user remembered biking through the Cockatoo’s burnt remains as a child. Given the cloud of organized…