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During the teens, Alla Nazimova, a Russian actress, had made quite a name for herself on the New York stage.  Upon arriving in Hollywood in 1918, she paid $50,000 for a 99 year lease on an enormous Spanish house at 8150 Sunset Blvd., with three and one half acres of tropical plants, ferns fruit trees and two large Cedars guarding the entrance.  After several years in Hollywood, her manager advised her to turn her estate into a hotel so it would give her security for the rest of her life.

After months of construction to build  twenty-five villas or bungalows around the pool, Miss. Nazimova’s Garden of Allah Hotel opened on February 9, 1927 with an eighteen hour party.  Entertained by troubadours playing madrigals from the...