The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) has an initiative “Where Women Made History” to identify, honor, and elevate places across the country where women have changed their communities and the world. We’re proud that the Ebell of Los Angeles recently was accepted as one of these sites! Access our story here.
The NTHP states: “Female thinkers, activists, and trailblazers have shaped us into the nation we are today and continue to lead us forward. Yet only a small fraction of our cultural heritage recognizes women’s ever-present role in history, and far too often women’s struggles and achievements have been lost, forgotten, or deliberately obscured.” Their crowdsourcing campaign to date has recognized 1,000+ places in all 50 states, “showcasing the unknown and under-appreciated stories of women as professionals, artists, activists, scholars, entrepreneurs, and preservationists.”
According to NTHP: “The Ebell Club of Los Angeles was founded in 1894 by a small group of women determined to advance women’s opportunities in education, civic improvement and “in every branch of culture”. In 1926, nearly 3,000 strong, the members realized an audacious plan to construct a grand new campus on a barely developed stretch of Wilshire Boulevard. The 75,000 sq ft complex with elegant Italian Renaissance campus and 1200 seat Wilshire Ebell Theatre designed by architect Sumner P. Hunt, and courtyard garden by landscape architect Florence Yoch, embodies the vision and aspirations of Ebell members past and present. Luminaries from Amelia Earhart, Margaret Mead and Judy Garland to Jill Biden and Michelle Obama have appeared on Ebell stages. Today, more than 125 years later, the Ebell continues to empower, engage and serve its diverse membership and Los Angeles community through programs, events and multiple philanthropies. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.”
The Ebell’s submission was a collaborative effort among Ebell Friends board members, Past President Loyce Braun and Julia Soto.
