Pig 'n Whistle
Pig 'n Whistle | |
---|---|
Casual, business casual | |
Street address | 6714 Hollywood Boulevard |
City | Hollywood, Los Angeles |
County | Los Angeles |
State | California |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 34°06′05″N 118°20′12″W / 34.1014°N 118.33673°W |
Website | www |
The Pig 'n Whistle was an American restaurant and bar[1] located in Hollywood[2] on Hollywood Boulevard.[3]
History
The Pig 'n Whistle was originally a chain of restaurants and candy shops, founded by John Gage in 1908.[4]: 7 He opened his first location in Downtown Los Angeles, next to the now-demolished 1888 City Hall at 224 S. Broadway.[5][4]: 7 Restaurateur Sidney Hoedemaker joined the company in 1927 and led expansion efforts throughout Southern California.[6] Hoedemaker purchased a downtown Los Angeles restaurant called Neve's Melody Lane in 1927 and adopted the name "Melody Lane" for new locations through the 1930s and 40s[7] Hoedemaker left Pig 'n Whistle in 1949 and started a chain of Hody's restaurants aimed at the young families moving into the Post WWII suburbs.[8]
The Hollywood location of the Pig 'n Whistle was first opened in 1927[4] next to Grauman's Egyptian Theatre.[9] The building housing the new restaurant cost $225,000 and featured "[c]arved oak rafters, imported tiles, artistically wrought grilles and balcony and great panelled fresco paintings from Don Quixote."[9] It was frequented by such celebrities as Spencer Tracy, Shirley Temple and Howard Hughes.[10] The original Hollywood location closed down after World War II[11] and its distinctive wooden furniture, decorated with hand-carved whistle-playing pigs,[11] was sold to Miceli's Italian Restaurant, located around the corner at 1646 Las Palmas Avenue, where it remains to the present day.[12]
By the late 1990s the location housed a fast-food pizza restaurant, and all that remained of the original tenant was a bas-relief pig on the front of the building.[12] In 1999, British restaurant operator Chris Breed remodeled the building, recovering the spectacular original ceiling ornamentation, and re-opened the restaurant.[11]
The phrase "pig and whistle" is of English origin, dating back to Shakespeare's time, but its meaning is uncertain.
From mid-March 2020 to April 2021, the
In popular culture
- 1974 – In Chinatown, J.J. Gittes says that Noah Cross last met Hollis I. Mulwray in front of the Pig 'n Whistle.[citation needed]
- 2001 - Visiting... with Huell Howser Episode 909[15]
- 2019 - The Pig 'n Whistle was featured in the song "Colorado Bound" by Big SMO[citation needed]
References
- ^ Maria Elena Fernandez (May 20, 2001). "Pillow Talk at the Pig". The Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Margaret Gray (May 17, 2012). "Review: A twist to 'It Is Done' at the Pig 'N Whistle". The Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Paul T. Bradley (February 20, 2014). "Ten Great L.A. Open Mic Nights for Music". LA Weekly.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7385-8141-5.
- ^ Advertisement for Pig 'n Whistle, December 10, 1908, Los Angeles Times
- ^ Gelakoska 2010, p.21
- ^ Gelakoska 2010, p.71
- ^ Gelakoska 2010, p.109
- ^ a b "Buildings Rise in Hollywood". The Los Angeles Times. July 17, 1927. p. E1.
- ^ a b Scarlet Cheng (April 26, 2001). "A Silk Purse Out of a Sow's Ear". The Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b c Ed Liebowitz (October 24, 1999). "The Best...the Beautiful...and the Bizarre; PORKY'S II; The Pig"n Whistle Returns". The Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b Michael Szymanski (July 15, 1990). "Where Pigs Danced and Waitresses Reached for Stars". The Los Angeles Times. p. WSJ8.
- ^ Martin, Gary. "Pig and Whistle". The Phrase Finder. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ Kang, Matthew (2021-10-26). "LA Preservationists Cringe as Unpermitted Renovation Threatens Historic Pig 'n Whistle". Eater LA. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
- ^ "Pig'n Whistle- Visiting (909) – Huell Howser Archives at Chapman University".
- Geary, George (2016). L.A.’s Legendary Restaurants. Santa Monica Press. ISBN 9781595800893.
- Gelakoska, Veronica (2010). Pig & Whistle. Arcadia Press. ISBN 9780738581415.