Before the wrecking ball, a party at Perino’s

“THERE it is -- yes -- we sat right there, under the mirror,” said actress Margaret O’Brien, pointing out a booth in the faded peach dining salon at Perino’s restaurant on Wilshire. “Oh, it brings back a lot of memories.”

This was the spot where O’Brien, the child star who gained fame in films such as “Meet Me in St. Louis” and “Little Women,” once turned heads as she dined with her mother, Gladys O’Brien. She adored the fancy chocolate sundaes that capped her frequent afternoon suppers there, she said. Not to mention the annual birthday parties held in her honor. The restaurant founded by Alex Perino in the ‘30s even named a drink after the pigtailed young actress who received a special Academy Award in 1945. “It was sort of a copy of the Shirley Temple, with ginger ale and grenadine,” she said. “I was raised at Perino’s. I’m sad it’s being torn down.”

Joining with hundreds of members of the Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society, O’Brien bade farewell to the restaurant frequented by notables such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Frank Sinatra, Howard Hughes and Cole Porter at the society’s Jan. 10 dinner-dance, “The Last Hurrah.” In March, the pink structure will be razed to make way for luxury apartments. “Our society exists to pay homage to the history of Los Angeles -- especially in this area,” said society president Laura Cohen. “Each year we give out awards to honor buildings that have been respectfully renovated. Unfortunately, this isn’t one of them.”

Sipping champagne and sampling Perino’s classics such as salmon mousse in aspic, guests wandered among the food-and-drink- stained ruins of the fabled restaurant that has been closed for more than a decade. “I could cry,” said society member Liza Lewis, gazing at the crystal sconces accenting the moire-silk upholstered walls. “It’s still a beautiful place.”

Natalie Howard, also a society member, recalled “doing a lot of entertaining here and enjoying every minute of it,” beginning in the ‘40s. “Certain people sat at certain tables -- I think Buffy Chandler sat over there,” she said, nodding toward the booth to the immediate right of the entryway. “This room was all about gracious living and delicious food. I especially remember the Senegalese soup topped with fresh apple and the artichoke bread -- something I’d never had before,” she said. “But these days, I don’t think a restaurant could survive in this area. Not enough traffic.”

For San Diego landscape architect Roger Boddaert Jr., the evening was an opportunity to pay tribute to his father, once a catering manager of Chasen’s and general manager and maitre d’ at Perino’s during the ‘50s and ‘60s. Perino’s represents “an era that shan’t return again -- one of incredibly fine dining and service,” he said. “Dad was from the old school, and he worked around the world. I’m feeling wonderful, happy and joyous, and a little pulled,” he added, choking up. “I’ve eaten so many times in this dining room. And it’s finally time to say goodbye.”