| Hollywood Hotel | |
|---|---|
 Hollywood Hotel in 1905 | |
 Interactive map of Hollywood Hotel | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Mission Revival |
| Coordinates | 34°06′07″N118°20′23″W / 34.1020°N 118.3397°W /34.1020; -118.3397 |
| Opened | 1902 |
| Demolished | 1956 |
| Owner | H.J. Whitley Almira Hershey George Krom Charles E. Toberman |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Dennis andFarwell |
| Other information | |
| Public transit access | Balloon Route |
TheHollywood Hotel was a famoushotel, society venue of early Hollywoodlandmark, formerly located at 6811Hollywood Boulevard, on the north side, extending fromHighland Avenue to Orchid Avenue, in centralHollywood, Los Angeles, California.
The Hollywood Hotel opened in December 1902. It was designed and built byLyman Farwell andOliver Perry Dennis[1] for early Hollywood developerH.J. Whitley, to support selling residential lots to potential buyers arriving from Los Angeles by the electricBalloon Route trolley of theLos Angeles Pacific Railroad.[2][3] It was developed on property owned byHarrison Gray Otis,George Hoover, and Whitley. Located on the west side of Highland Avenue, the elegant wood structure withMission Revival style stucco facades and broadverandas also fronted unpaved Prospect Avenue, lined withCalifornia pepper trees. The hotel was sited among lemon groves and then at the base of theHollywood Hills, part of theSanta Monica Mountains in the area. Whitley was instrumental in improvements to Prospect Avenue, which in 1910 was renamedHollywood Boulevard. Increasing business compelled the building of an additional 40-room wing onto the hotel in 1905.[3]
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.[4][5][6][7]
In 1906 the heiressAlmira Hershey, who was then living in a mansion onBunker Hill inDowntown Los Angeles, took a buggy ride to see the hotel that was being advertised in theLos Angeles Times. She was so impressed with the Hollywood Hotel she decided to buy it.[3] She hiredMargaret J. Anderson who had worked for her at the Darby and the Fremont Hotels, which Hershey owned, as manager.[8] Under Anderson's management, the hotel expanded from 16 rooms to 250 and became well known in the area,[9] but the two women had a contentious relationship and Anderson left to move to theBeverly Hills Hotel in 1912.[10]
The fame of the Hollywood Hotel, like that of Hollywood, came from its identification with theHollywood movie industry, beginning in the 1910s. Those who stayed at the hotel includedJesse Lasky,Carl Laemmle,Louis B. Mayer,Harry Warner, andIrving Thalberg. Producers, directors, writers and technicians held conferences on the broad verandas.
There was a 'stream' ofsilent filmmovie stars and movie moguls passing through. Some of the movie industry people resided in the hotel, and many attended the dances held on 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 wasRudolph Valentino, who lived in room 264. He met his first wife,Jean Acker, in the hotel, where they were married in 1919 and spent their honeymoon. Other stars includedEthel Barrymore,Norma Shearer, and Valentino's second wifeNatasha Rambova. The hotel also hosted notable guests from beyond Los Angeles and the United States.
SongwriterCarrie Jacobs Bond composed her famous songA Perfect Day, and sang it, while a guest at the Hollywood Hotel.
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.[3]
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 duringWorld 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 aUS$10 million ($116 million in2024) 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 theHollywood and Highland Center shopping and entertainment complex was built on the site. It includes theDolby Theatre (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre), the current home of the annualAcademy Awards ceremony.
