Original, intact model of Garden of Allah located in the Valley*

Alison Martino's Vintage LA community on Facebook has turned up another gem. This time it's apparently an original model of the legendary Garden of Allah hotel that stood at the southwest corner of Sunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights, at the outlet of Laurel Canyon. This is, I believe, in Hollywood just outside the borders of West Hollywood, the former Sunset Strip. The hotel opened in 1927 on the site of developer William H. Hay's former Havenhurst estate. It was razed in 1959 for a Lytton Savings building and the site now is occupied by one of the city's uglier corner shopping centers.

"This is truly a remarkable piece of Los Angeles history!," Martino says on Facebook. The model is out in the Valley and the owner is ready to part with it, she says.

Here's a link to the video in case it's not playing.

* Update: Old news. Curbed LA had a story on the model in 2011. At the time owner David Meyers was trying to sell it for $500,000. Also, John Shannon emails that he remembers when the model was displayed in the Lytton Savings parking lot.

Also on Facebook: Vintage home movie footage of boats on the lake at Westlake Park (now MacArthur Park) in 1932 and 1948.