Ravenswood: Mae West Territory

Ravenswood has always been a star attraction of the Rossmore corridor, and attracted multiple starlets to its hallways, including Ava Gardner and Mae West. When Mae West moved into unit #611 the men, the booze, and the shenanigans would follow. When her neighbors complained, she bought the building and tossed them out, filling it instead with heathens and lovers. She lived there until she died in 1980.



Ravenswood was built in 1930 by architect Max Maltman and remains an exceptional art deco mammoth. Its size and the narrowness of Rossmore made it difficult to get a decent photo. So I took a page from Mae West's diary and had an adventure with a stranger. On a rooftop.

This is Geoffrey, jazz singer:



We met on the street, and he escorted me up seven flights of stairs to the rooftop accross from Ravenswood. We climbed up ladders and stood at the top of Hancock Park with an incredible view in each direction. The sea of palms stretched out to the West like a tropical Central Park and I could see a ribbon of silver Pacific. In the end, I scrambled up another ladder, and dangled over the edge of a mansard roof to get the picture at the top of this post.
Have an adventure today. Have one every day. Meet strangers on rooftops.
Drive by Ravenswood at 570 North Rossmore.