Hollywood Hotel
The Hollywood Hotel was a famous hotel, society venue of early Hollywood, and landmark, formerly located at 6811 Hollywood Boulevard, on the north side, extending from Highland Avenue to Orchid Avenue, in central Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
History
Early years
The Hollywood Hotel opened in December 1902. It was built by early Hollywood developer
Whitley surrounded the hotel with 3 acres (1.2 ha) of cultivated gardens. He operated the establishment as a country resort hotel as the developing community of Hollywood first established itself.[3][4][5][6]
In 1906 the heiress
Motion picture era
The fame of the Hollywood Hotel, like that of Hollywood, came from its identification with the
. Producers, directors, writers and technicians held conferences on the broad verandas.There was a 'stream' of silent film movie stars and movie moguls passing through. Some of the movie industry people resided in the hotel, and many attended the dances held Thursday nights in the ballroom. It was considered "the" place to be seen and the cultural center of Hollywood. To identify where certain people regularly sat to dine, the hotel had stars with the names of celebrities painted on the ceiling above their tables.
Among the scores of movie stars who stayed at the Hollywood Hotel through the years was
Songwriter
In 1922 Almira Hershey lost a breach of contract dispute with the hotel's long time manager George Krom, which allowed him to purchase the hotel.[2]
Decline and demolition
In the early 1940s, Charles E. Toberman, a real estate developer who was known as "Mr. Hollywood," acquired all the stock of the Good Hope Company, which owned the Hollywood Hotel property. He wanted to tear it down then and redevelop the block, but was halted because of the restrictions on building materials during World War II.
By the 1950s, the hotel was run down and faded from its former glory. Developers were adamant that renovating and restoring the property was out of the question.
Though the Hollywood Hotel was an architectural landmark and had housed many of the great Hollywood stars in its day, it was razed in August 1956 to make way for a US$10 million development. It was replaced by a twelve story office building for the First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Hollywood, a shopping center, and parking lots.
In 2001 those were demolished, and the
See also
Los Angeles portal
References
- ^ "Millennium Hollywood,net: "HJ Whitley and the Original Hollywood & Highland, The Hollywood Hotel"". Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2015-07-26.
- ^ a b c d e Google Books: Historic Hotels of Los Angeles and Hollywood, by Linda McCann, Dace Taube, Claude Zachary, Curtis C. Roseman]
- ^ Los Angeles Herald (August 31, 1951)
- ^ California Historian Volume 54, Number 4 published by Conference of California Historical Societies (2008)
- ^ Los Angeles Times Magazine (January 4, 1987)
- ^ "California and Californians," by Rockwell Dennis Hunt and Nellie Van de Grift Sanchez (1930)
- ^ Vaught, Steve (29 April 2012). "Happy 100th Birthday to a Grand Old Lady – The Beverly Hills Hotel!". Paradise Leased. Paradise Leased. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-738-53068-0. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- Newspapers.com.
