Sycamore Inn

What is Sycamore Inn?

The steakhouse fills a two-story building on Foothill Boulevard's north side. Its upper floor once held hotel rooms. The inn bills itself as offering hospitality since 1848, a claim spelled out on its neon sign. It is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History of Sycamore Inn

In the mid-1800s William "Uncle Billy" Rubottom ran a tavern here called the Mountain View, on the wagon road that later became Foothill Boulevard and Route 66. Local lore credits him with bringing opossums to California as a dish.

Citrus grower John Klusman put up the present building in 1920. In 1939 the Hinrichsen family took over, closed the upstairs rooms and named it the Sycamore Inn, running it for decades as Route 66 traffic rolled past. Elizabeth Short, the "Black Dahlia," is said to have had a date here weeks before her 1947 murder.

Visiting Sycamore Inn: tips

It sits right on the old road, so there is no detour. Plan it as a sit-down meal rather than a quick bite, and look for the photos of famous guests on the dining-room walls, Marilyn Monroe among them.