Brown Derby Wilshire (gone)

"Eat in the Hat" said the neon on Wilshire Boulevard, and a piece of that hat was still standing in a 2024 photograph. The Brown Derby opened in 1926 at 3427 Wilshire, across the street from the Ambassador Hotel, and took the shape of a derby hat to catch the attention of passing motorists, according to the Los Angeles Almanac. Its success led to a move half a block east, to the corner of Wilshire and Alexandria Avenue at 3377 Wilshire, in 1937. The Los Angeles Conservancy says the dome was reconstructed there with more dining space and an open-air patio; the Almanac describes the building as moved. The Conservancy notes that, although the business grew into several restaurants, this was the only one built in the shape of a hat.

The restaurant closed in September 1980. According to writer George Geary, protesters from Hollywood Heritage and the Los Angeles Conservancy stopped the first attempt at demolition and the owner agreed to sell the dome to a preservation group. Accounts of what followed differ: the Almanac says the structure was dismantled in 1985, while Martin Turnbull's photo blog describes the building as demolished after the 1980 closure. Both say the dome was kept and built into a small shopping centre on the site, which Geary calls the Brown Derby Plaza.