Added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1994

Let us dedicate this building to friendship, one of the most prized human possessions; dedicate it to the most satisfying form of friendship, not that which comes from mere social acquaintance, but that which comes from thinking, planning and working together.

-Ebell of LA President Helen Read, in her dedicatory remarks at the opening of the Ebell Clubhouse, October 1927

The Ebell of Los Angeles remains one of the city’s OG social and cultural organizations. Founded in 1894 by women, for women, it was the local outpost of an international society dedicated to the advancement of women – one of the longest-running women’s clubs in the world. Ebell members follow the precepts of Dr. Adrian Ebell, a physician and educator who advocated for women to be knowledgeable about, and involved in, all branches of culture. Since the beginning, there has also been a philanthropic component to the Ebell society. The LA branch continues that tradition today through scholarships to women college students, and grants to nonprofits that aid women and children. 

For its first 30 years the Ebell of Los Angeles operated out of a succession of different properties, mostly downtown. Some of them were pretty swank! They even got Sumner Hunt, the eminent architect behind the Bradbury Building, Southwest Museum and Automobile Club of Southern California to design an earlier clubhouse in 1905 (his wife was Ebell President at the time).  

But today we’re talking about the Ebell of LA’s forever home, the one it’s operated out of since 1927 on the corner of Wilshire and Lucerne in Hancock Park. It’s the kind of gleaming, old-world-Italian-looking building that just looks like it was built to house important events and important people. And it did (more on that later). 

The current Ebell of LA was built on an undeveloped parcel of land procured with the proceeds of some savvy real estate deals. The considerable sum of $700,000 landed the organization another go-round with Sumner Hunt, who designed the building in 1925 during his time practicing with Silas Burns. The cornerstone was laid on February 28, 1927, in a ceremony overseen by Ebell President Helen Read. Just seven months later, the opening dedication took place, including a performance by the Adolph Tandler String Ensemble of works by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Holst, Cowell and even a Tandler original. 

The result of their tireless and unceasing labor may be seen at 4400 Wilshire Boulevard where a stately group of buildings now adorns a sightly eminence. The separated units have been so carefully designed as to form a magnificent mass, a colossal edifice, severely simple, classically correct, pleasing in its very ruggedness, elegant in its ornate adornment, suited to the purpose for which it was built.

-Mrs. William Read (Helen Read), “The President’s Greeting,” from Ebell Dedication newsletter, Oct. 1927

Hunt designed an elegant, three-story reinforced concrete home for the Ebell that wears its 75,000 square feet well. Its bottom floor houses the impressive lounge room, with coffered ceilings and beams richly decorated by artist Julian Ellsworth Garnsey. Each of the beams is decorated with symbols related to the values and fields of study that Dr. Adrian Ebell believed in – the masks of tragedy and comedy, a lamp symbolizing learning, an open book for literature, a lyre representing music, that kind of thing. 

The door leading into the lounge from Wilshire Boulevard is worth a special mention. Known as the Charter Members’ Portal, it’s moe a world-class work of craftsmanship that moonlights as an entryway. It was designed by John William Chard, an architect known for reintroducing adobe brick construction into fine design. Chard oversaw the creation of some 2000 separate pieces of wrought iron and plate glass for the Portal. He inscribed golden masks of comedy and tragedy into the door, just as Garnsey had painted on the ceiling beams of the lounge. You’ll also find the insignia “E” and “C” tangled among the delicate iron floral patterns (presumably standing for “Ebell” and “Club?”). It really is something. 

Just south of the lounge is a light-filled art salon, said to be one of the first to focus on paintings by women. On the west side is the dining room, supported by square columns inlaid with fancy decorative motifs on all sides.  

On the two upper floors you’ll find an auditorium with built-in seats; a huge solarium, surrounded by bands of windows; a small room dedicated to crafts; and the Helen Read room which once housed the Ebell archives (maybe still does?). Somewhere in there is a large collection of well-preserved historic costumes, which the Ebell trots out during their annual September open house event. ALSO UPSTAIRS: the extra luxe wood-paneled library. I went to an event at the Ebell recently where Macallan was pouring samples of four of its Scotches inside the library, and it occurred to me that this kind of room was tailor made for Scotch tastings. It’s like you’re surrounded by an oak aging barrel. 

The entire Ebell clubhouse is built around a spacious central courtyard. The lovely “Fountain of Honor,” including a classically-inspired sculpture by artist Henry Lion, holds court in the middle as a memorial to the Ebell women’s relatives who died in WWI. There’s a gorgeous colonnade of double arches on the east side of the courtyard, fit for the grandest of promenades. In early photos, the arches facing Lucerne emptied out right onto the street. At some point they were filled in with tasteful ironwork and planted trees, ostensibly for privacy. And it worked! Large as it is, the Ebell courtyard feels set apart from the rest of the world. 

The Ebell traditionally throws open its doors during a free open house event in September. For those of us who can’t make it, your best chance to experience the building is by attending a performance at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. The 1200+ seat venue is connected to the main clubhouse, and its history runs right alongside it. Originally known as the Windsor Square Theatre, it opened its doors on December 29, 1927 for the premiere of the operetta The Desert Song. 

Since then the Wilshire Ebell Theatre has hosted countless concerts and lectures, plays and poetry readings, symphonies and vaudeville shows. This was the stage where Judy Garland was “discovered” by MGM in 1934, years before she filmed The Wizard of Oz, back when she was known as Baby Frances Gumm. Amelia Earhart gave her last public appearance here in 1937, the same year she went missing over the Pacific during an attempted ‘round-the-world flight. Stravinsky and Schoenberg premiered works at the Wilshire Ebell, Dave Brubeck recorded a live album here in 1953, and iconoclastic pianist Glenn Gould gave his last ever live recital at the Ebell, in 1964. Legendary ladies Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Taylor, Dolly Parton, Julie Andrews, Rita Moreno, Yoko Ono and Karen Bass have all graced the Ebell stage, as have many legendary non-ladies, including Stevie Wonder, Martin Short and Justin Timberlake. Big stuff. 

Ebell members continue to meet at the clubhouse regularly. Most weeks, you’ll also find the clubhouse and/or the Wilshire Ebell Theatre rented out for performances, corporate conferences, weddings, civic and political events, religious services, fundraisers…you name it. This nearly-century-old building continues to be a cultural and social hub partly because of a well-organized community effort that has gone into preserving it over the years. It’s also because the Ebell’s core goals, to educate and lift up women, remain so relevant.

Thank you to Christy McAvoy, founder of Historic Resources Group, for the excellent tour of the Wilshire Ebell Theatre during Doors Open California weekend

Sources & Recommended Reading

+ Ebell Club’s NRHP nomination form

+ About the Ebell of Los Angeles (EbellofLA.org)

+ “EBELL LAYS ITS CORNER-STONE” (Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1927 – accessed via ProQuest)

+ Beresford, Hattie: ”What Chard Wrought” (Montecito Journal, August 23, 2022)

+ Ebell of Los Angeles (Los Angeles Conservancy)

+ Ebell of Los Angeles: Dedication (PDF) (October 3, 1927 – accessed via Los Angeles Public Library)

+ Ebell Friends: History & Restoration (EbellofLA.org)

+ Folvin, Edwin: Historic Ebell receives first major renovations (Beverly Press/Park Labrea News, March 14, 2013)

+ Hume, Mike: Wilshire Ebell Theatre (Historic Theatre Photos)

+ Our History (EbellofLA.org) 

+ Wilshire Ebell Theatre (Los Angeles Theatres)

+ Wilshire Ebell Theatre History (EbellofLA.org)