Methyl ketones or ethyl acetate react with aromatic abromo ketones in the presence of two equivalents of tert-butoxyor diethylaminomagnesium bromide in benzene (toluene) under reflux to produce 1-aryl-2,4-diones. The conversion, apparently, occurs via aldol condensation and subsequent [1,2]-sigmatropic rearrangement of the intermediate 3-bromo-2-hydroxy ketones. A number of fused aromatic and heteroaromatic phenols have been prepared by cyclodehydration of 1-aryl-2,4-diones.