Security Trust and Savings | |
 Security Trust and Savings, 2008 | |
  Location of building inLos Angeles County | |
| Location | 6381–6385 W. Hollywood Blvd.,Los Angeles,California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°6′9″N118°19′42″W / 34.10250°N 118.32833°W /34.10250; -118.32833 |
| Built | 1921 |
| Architect | John and Donald Parkinson |
| Architectural style | Italian Renaissance revival |
| Part of | Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District (ID85000704) |
| NRHP reference No. | 83001204 |
| LAHCM No. | 334 |
| Significant dates | |
| Designated NRHP | August 18, 1983 |
| Designated CP | April 4, 1985 |
| Designated LAHCM | December 18, 1987 |
Security Trust and Savings, also known asSecurity Trust,Security Pacific Bank,Security Bank Building, andCahuenga Building, is a historic seven-story office building on the corner ofHollywood Boulevard andCahuenga Boulevard inHollywood, California. It is notable for its architecture, itshistory with Hollywood, and its association with fictional detectivePhillip Marlowe.
Security Trust and Savings was built in 1921 and upon opening was the tallest building in Hollywood.[1] It featuresItalian Renaissance revival architecture and was designed byJohn and Donald Parkinson,[2][3] who also designed some of theLos Angeles's most notable landmarks, includingUnion Station and theMemorial Coliseum.[4]
Originally the Hollywood branch of the six-location Security Trust and Savings Bank,[5] this location was considered "a power center of the entertainment industry", with clients that includedCharlie Chaplin,the Three Stooges,Lana Turner,W.C. Fields,Cecil B. DeMille,Howard Hughes, and more.[3]
In 1982, the building was included in theNational Register of Historic Places,[6] and in 1984, theHollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District was added to the register, with Security Trust listed as acontributing property in the district.[2][7] In 1987, the building was designatedLos Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #334.[8]
In 2008, Hollywood's Economic Development Committee received two proposals to convert the building into a hotel,[9] and in 2020, the building was bought for $53 million ($64.4 million in 2024) byOnni Group, who plan to preserve it while redeveloping an adjoining property.[10]
 | This sectionrelies largely or entirely on asingle source. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Security Trust and Savings" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2025) |
Security Trust and Savings is asteel reinforcedmasonry office building that features anItalian Renaissance Revival design. The building features verticalmassing with a greyterra cotta exterior, additional terra cottaornamentation, and a darkmarble band that anchors the building to the street.[6]
The street level facade features slightly recessed and outsized windows between widepilasters, and recessed entryways highlighted byflutedcolumns. The Cahuenga entrance also features an ornately decoratedcornice withmedallions andgarlands supported bybrackets, while the Hollywood Boulevard entrance was stripped of its cornice to accommodate a sign. An ornamentalstringcourse separates the street level from the office floors above, with the office floors featuring pairs of slightly recessed vertically banded windows separated by thin twisted fluted columns and culminating decorativecapitals and a doublearch. Beneath each office window is a rectangular panel bordered with terra cotta cast in a classical motif.[6]
A flat roof with deep projectingeaves caps the structure. Cornice decorations, including sculpted lion heads and carved brackets featuring recessed floral medallions, punctuate the roof line. The "rope"effect of the twisted columns is maintained in this area by twohorizontal bands, and the classical motif of the office window panels is repeated in a horizontal band below the brackets.[6]
The interior bank lobby features original marble floors and freestanding covered columns as well as restored banded marble walls and high ceilings. Much of the rest of the interior has been renovated and remodeled.[6]
This building is widely believed to be the inspiration for the Cahuenga Building, a fictional building that housed the office ofPhilip Marlowe, the hardboiled detective featured in a number ofRaymond Chandler's stories. Additionally,The Brasher Doubloon, a film adaption of Chandler'sThe High Window, features this building as that location.[11] The intersection outside this building is named Raymond Chandler Square as a tribute to the belief that Phillip Marlowe's office was located here.[4][12][13]
This building's exterior was a common filming location for and can be seen in manyBuster Keaton,Harold Lloyd, andCharlie Chaplin films.[4]
