Looking for an experience that combines romance, stunning views and a bit of history thrown in? Then the Sky Room at the historic Breakers building in Long Beach is the place for you.
This article is not exactly a restaurant review, as I didn’t dine at the Sky Room. However I did have drinks and was able to experience the atmosphere of this unique venue.
Doing research for a future article, I discovered that the Sky Room has a great bar on the top floor. Therefore, my friend Lisa, her sister Lara and I went last Friday evening to check it out. The Sky Room has several rooms other than the restaurant and bar including a chapel in the lobby.
Entering under the red awning on the side of the historic 18 story Breakers, a hotel built in 1926 and an example of Art Deco architecture, we saw the elevator operator standing at the end of a lush hallway. However, he was much more than an elevator operator taking us up to the Sky Room. Dressed in top hat and tails he seemed more like our host for the evening.
We told him we were going to the bar at the top when we exited the elevator so he opened a door to a stairwell and told us to go on up. The winding staircase led us up to a small bar with a Spanish motif surrounded by a veranda with the most incredible views of the city and waterfront.
The bar was crowded with a group from the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles but they were friendly and quickly made room for us. We ordered our drinks but decided to sit out on the terrace to enjoy the view. It was quite cold but we enjoyed the sight of the city lights so much that we didn’t mind.
After an hour we decided to leave but we thought we’d check out the restaurant…well more like check out the restroom instead. Even the ladies room had excellent views from several windows in a brightly lit, potpourri scented room. Not to mention a life size statue of Humphrey Bogart dressed as Sam Spade.
You may be wondering why they would have a statue of Humphrey Bogart in the women’s restroom but it seems as though the Sky Room was a favorite nightspot with the Hollywood crowd during the thirties and forties. Celebrities such as Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Cary Grant and John Wayne enjoyed the dining and dancing at this popular nightclub during its heyday.
There were several awards displayed on the wall at the entrance of the restaurant including the 2007 AAA Four Star Diamond honor. We admired these as we waited for the elevator operator to return to take us back to the lobby.
As we entered the elevator a group of young people who were obviously checking out the restaurant as well, joined us. They were a jovial group and the one who was the obvious clown asked the elevator operator if the restaurant took a triple AAA discount. The elevator operator’s response was a perplexed look and to tell them that the AAA displayed meant an award not a discount. It gave me a good laugh.
As we walked along the lobby the guys tried the door to the Wedding Chapel. It was open and the room was lit so they slipped inside. As we were curious too, we followed. The same young man with the comedic timing jumped up onto the pulpit and in his best preacher imitation shouted out, “What God has joined let no man put asunder!â€
He capped the perfect evening. Lisa, Lara and I were still laughing as we left the Breakers. However, I was disappointed I didn’t bring a camera so I vowed to return as soon as I could. That opportunity presented itself a few days later.
I have another set of friends who go out for a monthly dinner and it happened to be that following Monday. We planned to eat at PF Chang’s at the Pike, which is close to the Breakers. So I asked my friends, Sheila and Kristina, if they would be interested in going to the Sky Room for a drink first. I told them about my visit on Friday and they were enthusiastic to go as well.
As we entered the lobby, Sheila and Kristina were impressed with the art deco decor with the luxuriant red carpet and vintage photographs on the wall. We walked by the chapel and I couldn’t help but try the door. It was open but dark inside so we went on. The elevator operator, named Martin, was once again waiting at the end of the hall.
As we exited the elevator I told him we wanted to go up to the bar. He told us it was closed, as it was only open on the weekends. Before the disappointment sunk in though he told us we could go up to check out the view as long as we let the bartender know first.
The hostess led us to the lounge in the restaurant. Lo and behold there was a wonderful bar there too, tended by Frank, a friendly and what turned out to be an informative bartender.
The first thing he told us was that he was the main bartender for the bar on the top floor as well. He mixed up some great martinis for Sheila and me and poured Kristina her choice of wine. We enjoyed the atmosphere in the lounge, listening to the live music and relaxing that we almost forgot about going up to the top floor.
However Frank reminded us about our goal and escorted us up. He opened up the bar for us to admire and was full of details about the history of the Sky Room. Such as the fact this top floor was used as a gun turret with machine guns trained on the port as part of the harbor’s defenses during WWII and it was never open to the public until Bernard Rosenson, the latest owner who purchased the Sky Room in 1997, decided to put this bar up there.
Frank’s graciousness gave us such an insight to the setting that it was well worth coming on a night it was closed. It made this extra visit well worth it.
When Martin took us back to the lobby he asked if we had seen the chapel. I told him I peeked in but the light was off. He led us in and turned on the lights for us. He told us to take our time but that he had to return to his post so he left us alone to check it out.
What made this second trip so special was the hospitality and trust the employees gave us at this incredible place. I didn’t tell them I was writing an article so their cordialness was sincere and they would most likely treat all their guests this way.
When Sheila, Kristina and I left we said this was the best grown up field trip we’d ever been on!
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