Pig 'n Whistle

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This article is about the restaurant in Los Angeles. For the Canadian television series, see The Pig and Whistle.
Pig 'n Whistle
2014.04.10.pig.and.whistle.6712.hollywood.blvd.jpg
Restaurant information
EstablishedJuly 22, 1927 (1927-07-22)
Food typeAmerican
Dress codeCasual, business casual
Street address6714 Hollywood Boulevard
CityHollywood, Los Angeles
CountyLos Angeles
StateCalifornia
CountryUnited States
Coordinates34°06′05″N 118°20′12″W / 34.1014°N 118.33673°W / 34.1014; -118.33673Coordinates: 34°06′05″N 118°20′12″W / 34.1014°N 118.33673°W / 34.1014; -118.33673
Websitewww.pignwhistlehollywood.com

The Pig 'n Whistle is an American restaurant and bar[1] located in Hollywood[2] on Hollywood Boulevard.[3]

History[]

1908 Los Angeles Times Advertisement for original Pig 'n Whistle in Downtown Los Angeles

The Pig 'n Whistle was originally a chain of restaurants and candy shops, founded by John Gage in 1908.[4]:7 He opened his first location in Downtown Los Angeles, next to the now-demolished 1888 City Hall at 224 S. Broadway.[5][4]:7 Restaurateur Sidney Hoedemaker joined the company in 1927 and led expansion efforts throughout Southern California.[6] Hoedemaker purchased a downtown Los Angeles restaurant called Neve's Melody Lane in 1927 and adopted the name "Melody Lane" for new locations through the 1930s and 40s[7] Hoedemaker left Pig 'n Whistle in 1949 and started a chain of Hody's restaurants aimed at the young families moving into the Post WWII suburbs.[8] The Hollywood location of the Pig 'n Whistle was first opened in 1927[4] next to The Egyptian Theatre.[9] The building housing the new restaurant cost $225,000 and featured "[c]arved oak rafters, imported tiles, artistically wrought grilles and balcony and great panelled fresco paintings from Don Quixote."[9] It was frequented by such celebrities as Spencer Tracy, Shirley Temple and Howard Hughes.[10] The original Hollywood location closed down after World War II[11] and its distinctive wooden furniture, decorated with hand-carved whistle-playing pigs,[11] was sold to Miceli's Italian Restaurant, located around the corner at 1646 Las Palmas Avenue, where it remains to the present day.[12]

By the late 1990s the location housed a fast-food pizza restaurant, and all that remained of the original tenant was a bas-relief pig on the front of the building.[12] In 1999, British restaurant operator Chris Breed remodeled the building, recovering the spectacular original ceiling ornamentation, and re-opened the restaurant.[11]

The restaurant name originates from two Old English words, piggin, a lead mug, and wassail, a wine drunk during yuletide.[10]

From mid-March 2020 to April 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the restaurant to serve customers in a take-away format.

In Popular Culture[]

  • 1974 – In Chinatown J.J. Gittes says that Noah Cross last met Hollis I. Mulwray in front of the Pig 'n Whistle.
  • 2001 - Visiting... with Huell Howser Episode 909[13]

References[]

  1. ^ Maria Elena Fernandez (May 20, 2001). "Pillow Talk at the Pig". The Los Angeles Times.
  2. ^ Margaret Gray (May 17, 2012). "Review: A twist to 'It Is Done' at the Pig 'N Whistle". The Los Angeles Times.
  3. ^ Paul T. Bradley (February 20, 2014). "Ten Great L.A. Open Mic Nights for Music". LA Weekly.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Veronica Gelakoska (October 2010). Pig 'n Whistle. Arcadia Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-7385-8141-5.
  5. ^ Advertisement for Pig 'n Whistle, December 10, 1908, Los Angeles Times
  6. ^ Gelakoska 2010, p.21
  7. ^ Gelakoska 2010, p.71
  8. ^ Gelakoska 2010, p.109
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Buildings Rise in Hollywood". The Los Angeles Times. July 17, 1927. p. E1.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Scarlet Cheng (April 26, 2001). "A Silk Purse Out of a Sow's Ear". The Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c Ed Liebowitz (October 24, 1999). "The Best...the Beautiful...and the Bizarre; PORKY'S II; The Pig"n Whistle Returns". The Los Angeles Times.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Michael Szymanski (July 15, 1990). "Where Pigs Danced and Waitresses Reached for Stars". The Los Angeles Times. p. WSJ8.
  13. ^ "Pig'n Whistle- Visiting (909) – Huell Howser Archives at Chapman University".

External links[]


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