Creator
Beverly Hills Hotel
Title
Menu and Photograph - Halloween
Coverage
Beverly Hills, California
Date
October 31, 1912
Description
Halloween was about to be assimilated into mainstream society in 1912 when this party was held at the brand-new Beverly Hills Hotel. This early theme menu includes California specialties, such as fried Catalina sand dabs as well as jokey items like “banshee’s broth with broom sticks.” Costumed Halloween parties became a widespread social custom for adults as much as for children in the years before mass-produced costumes and trick-or-treating became part of the tradition.