The Hotel Hollywood was a staple of Hollywood Boulevard for years, just about a block away from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. It opened December 1902,designed and built by Lyman Farwell and Oliver Perry Dennis for Hollywood developer H.J. Whitley. The photo above was taken some time before 1910 (for explanation of how I know this, keep reading!). The below image from 1951 illustrates how the hotel had begun to suffer from deferred maintenance:
Below is a color shot from Christmas, 1954:
When I see photos of the large historic structure, it’s hard for me to believe that it was eventually removed. But, that’s what they do in Hollywood to its history. By the 1950s, the land it was on was worth more than the business, and so it was demolished in August 1956. Below is a shot from July, before the lot was completely cleared.
Oh, to have been there to salvage some of the items from that historic Mission Revival building!
In the corner, you can see Toff’s Diner, which was removed some time around the 1970s (don’t quote me on that!).
Originally, Hollywood Boulevard was called Prospect Avenue, as you can see from the detailed view from this post’s first photo:
By 1910, the town of Hollywood was incorporated into Los Angeles, and Prospect Avenue was officially renamed Hollywood Boulevard.
See more vintage and contemporary Hollywood photos at my main website.
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