Considering how the Black Dahlia was last seen leaving this majestic hotel just before her 1947 murder, you’d expect the Biltmore’s walls to be oozing with ectoplasm. And apparently they are — just not with hers.
As is often the case with upscale establishments, Millennium Biltmore management prefers not to indulge rumors of otherworldly guests. Nevertheless, an off-the-record interview I did a few years back with a highly credible source yielded several tales of mysterious phenomenon.
First there’s the young boy who allegedly materializes just outside the Crystal Ballroom. Hotel employees claim to have sighted him peering into the room late at night as they clean up from events. Sometimes, he’ll cautiously venture in through the doors only to vanish in a ghostly game of hide-and-seek. No one has a clue as to who he is or why he’s so drawn to the place.
Next there’s the former employee who supposedly haunts an elevator. Legend has it he was the victim of a mechanical mishap. Staff in the Biltmore Court have also reported eerie disturbances associated with a strange male apparition in the office areas.
But by far the most intriguing spirit is that of a red-haired woman said to make phantom rounds through the hotel basement. Dressed in what witnesses describe as a white Victorian-era gown or smock, she seems oblivious to passersby as she glides determinedly in and out of underground walls and corridors. Ironically, she may be a link to a past that predates the hotel: Some historians believe an Episcopalian convent and/or hospital may have stood on the site in the late-1800s. Of course, whatever was there is now long buried under the Biltmore’s nearly 85-year-old foundations.
Designed by architects Schultze and Weaver, and featuring ceilings painted by Giovanni Smeraldi, the 1923 hotel was built by hospitality magnate John McEntee Bowman. When it opened, the Biltmore was the largest American hotel west of Chicago. Over the decades it has played host to presidents, dignitaries and celebrities, and has served as the setting for eight Academy Award ceremonies and numerous films, including (appropriately) Ghostbusters.
While there are no credible reports of any spectral Black Dahlias lurking about, you can still retrace her steps through the landmark’s richly detailed halls and lobby, and imbibe in some mixed spirits named for her at the hotel bar.
506 S. Grand Ave.,
Downtown Los Angeles
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