Superior Oil Company Building
Superior Oil Company Building | |
Los Angeles, California | |
Coordinates | 34°3′1″N 118°15′22″W / 34.05028°N 118.25611°W |
---|---|
Built | 1955–1956 |
Architect | Beelman, Claud; Simpson, William |
Architectural style | Modern |
NRHP reference No. | 03000059 [1] |
LAHCM No. | 686 |
Added to NRHP | February 28, 2003 |
The Delphi Hotel[2] is a 12-story hotel located at 550 S Flower St in Downtown Los Angeles in the marble-clad high-rise Superior Oil Company Building formerly the headquarters of the now defunct company, converted to The Standard Downtown LA hotel in 2002, then closed in 2020 and reopened in 2023 under its current name.[3]
History
Office building
The marble-clad Superior Oil Company Building was constructed from 1955–1956
The LA Conservancy calls the building "one of the finest examples of the Corporate Moderne style in Los Angeles and stands out as one of the strongest designs of architect Claud Beelman’s later career."
In 1963, the building became the
Downtown Standard Hotel
By 2000, local preservation groups were expressing worries that the vacant structure would be gutted and used as a telecommunications switching station, like other office buildings in the area. In January 2000, it was reported that the Union Bank of California had sold the building to William Gustafson and Mark Neumann's Columbia Development, "a Manhattan Beach-based hotel investment and development firm," for an undisclosed sum. With backing from local preservation groups, it was to be the "central city's first major new hotel in nearly a decade."[5]
Columbia Development Group, in partnership with
The Standard Downtown LA opened in May 2002
In 2003, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places based on its architecture, particularly its moderne style and engineering.[2] Also in 2003, The Standard Hotel Downtown was awarded the Los Angeles Conservancy's preservation award, for "bringing a youthful buzz to a 1955 modernist skyscraper on Flower Street downtown."[13]
In 2009, the operator of the Standard Hotel was charged with dumping pool chemicals into the street below in a violation of federal environmental laws.[14] Standard Hotel pled guilty for the incident in 2010.[15] A shooting resulted in a death outside the hotel lobby in 2015.[16][17] In 2016, an injured bystander to the shootout sued the hotel, alleging insufficient security.[18] In May 2017, the food festival Smorgasburg LA debuted a popup residency at the Standard Hotel.[19][20]
The hotel closed temporarily in early 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2021, it was announced that the closure would be permanent as of January 22, 2022.[21]
Delphi Hotel
The hotel reopened on April 1, 2023[22] as the Delphi Hotel.[23]
In popular culture
- The building entrance and exterior served as the fictional Brent Building in the television series Perry Mason (1957–1966) in which Mason's office[9] was located in Suite 904.
- In the 1987 film RoboCop the building can be seen in the 6000 SUX car commercial.[citation needed]
- Significant portions of the 2005 film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang were filmed outside the hotel and in the hotel's lobby, guest rooms, coffee shop, and rooftop bar/pool.[24]
- The building was featured in the 2010 film Get Him to the Greek.
- In the 2015 film San Andreas, the building collapsed during an earthquake.[citation needed]
- The building was featured in the 2018 film Under the Silver Lake.
See also
- List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ a b c "California – Los Angeles County", National Register of Historic Places
- ^ https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/New-boutque-hotel-in-downtown-Los-Angeles-the-Delphi
- ^ a b c "The Standard", American Institute of Architects, November 16, 2012
- ^ a b c d e "'50s-Era Downtown High-Rise Slated to Be Turned Into Hotel", Jesus Sanchez, Los Angeles Times, January 25, 2000
- ^ a b c d "Downtown Los Angeles Boutique Hotels | The Standard, Downtown LA | Hotels in Downtown LA". www.standardhotels.com. 5 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d "The Standard, Downtown LA", laconservancy.org
- ^ Los Angeles Weekly, January 26, 2011
- ^ a b "The Brent Building", Perry Mason TV Series
- ^ https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1204560/000095015003000460/a84823a2exv99w4.txt
- ^ a b c d "L.A. hotel pools: 6 that make a real splash", Jordan Rane, CNN, October 20, 2017
- Los Angeles Weekly, 2013
- ^ "Preservation projects praised", Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2003
- ^ "Operator of Standard Hotel in Los Angeles Charged in Dumping of Chemicals that Caused Illnesses in Subway", January 29, 2009, FBI
- ^ "Standard Hotel pleads guilty to dumping pool chemicals down rooftop drain", Corina Knoll, Los Angeles Times, March 23, 2010
- ^ "1 killed in shooting outside The Standard Hotel in downtown Los Angeles", ABC, December 13, 2015
- ^ "1 Dead, 1 Paralyzed In Shooting Inside Lobby Of Standard Hotel In Downtown Los Angeles", CBS, December 13, 2015
- ^ "Man Sues Standard Hotel in Dowtown L.A. for 2015 Shooting", LA Watts Times, June 2, 2016
- ^ "Smorgasburg LA Is Debuting A Rooftop Pop-Up At The Standard" Archived 2017-11-09 at the Wayback Machine, Oren Peleg, LAist, May 15, 2017
- ^ "Smorgasburg Is Coming to The Standard Hotel Downtown", Katherine Spiers, LA Weekly, May 13, 2017
- ^ "Downtown LA's Standard Hotel To Close For Good In January". The Real Deal Los Angeles. December 20, 2021.
- ^ https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/New-boutque-hotel-in-downtown-Los-Angeles-the-Delphi
- ^ https://www.costar.com/article/2905064/trendy-downtown-los-angeles-hotel-that-shuttered-in-the-pandemic-now-reopening
- ^ "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: Filming Locations". www.seeing-stars.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09.