Trader Vic’s and the hotel were built in 1955 by Welton Becket (his firm later merged with Ellerbe Associates to form today’s Ellerbe Becket). Preservationists are championing the place for its role in tiki history. The rum-based mai tai was invented by founder Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron.

Bruce Becket, Welton’s son and himself a Los Angeles architect, says his father had “a very personal interest in Trader Vic’s. It was a reflection of his friendship with Conrad Hilton. It was like home to him.” Bruce recalls the family’s weekly dinners there and the group his father drank with, which included Walter Pidgeon and Ronald Reagan.

More recently the restaurant and bar have been used as a gathering spot for stars following glitzy events like the Golden Globes.

Click here for the complete article by the Los Angeles Times’ Scott Timberg:

An innovator since its founding in 1909, Ellerbe Becket is a leader in architecture, interiors, engineering and the construction industry with office locations worldwide.

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