The frescoed mural ceilings in the Crystal Ballroom were hand painted in 1922 by Italian artist Giovanni Smeraldi, known for his work in the Vatican and the White House.
Smeraldi and his team famously painted the ballroom's colorful, seamless fresco over a period of seven months, decorating it with figures of Greek and Roman gods, angels, cupids and other mythological creatures.
It was meticulously restored in the 1980s by Smeraldi's apprentice, Anthony Heinsbergen.
The imported Austrian crystal chandeliers that adorn it are 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter.
The Los Angeles Biltmore is known for being an early home to the Academy Award Ceremony for the Oscars.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded at a luncheon banquet in the Crystal Ballroom in May 1927, when guests such as Louis B. Mayer met to discuss plans for the new organization and presenting achievement awards to colleagues in their industry.
Legend has it that MGM art director Cedric Gibbons, who was in attendance, immediately grabbed a linen Biltmore napkin and sketched the design for the Oscar statue on it.
Eight Oscar ceremonies were held in the Biltmore Bowl during the Academy's early years of 1931, 1935–39, and 1941-42.
In 1977 Bob Hope hosted the Academy's 50th Anniversary banquet in the same room.
No comments:
Post a Comment