This recently acquired vintage 1987 shot of the exterior of my fantasy home-away-from-home (and Willis’, too), the Chateau Marmont, initially shows very little change (other than growth of the landscaping) from the photo below that I snapped in 2016.
Upon closer look, other subtle differences come to light. A small portion of the brick wall at the entrance still remains, mainly the pillars on both sides. The light globes are gone though, and the wall to the right seems to have been completely rebuilt (as well as painted). The neon sign seems identical, other than its placement. I am guessing that the growth of the vines/trees necessitated the movement so that it could still be visible to those entering the hotel. I believe the sign stays on 24 hours now, rather than being turned off during the day (don’t quote me on that one). The small table/stand at the entrance has been replaced with the valet/check-in stand and a tent where guests can hide from the paparazzi as they await their limos.
In the 1987 image, TV antennas clutter the chimney stack:
By 2016, POOF! They are no longer necessary and have been removed.
These are the details that I obsess over. What are yours?
See more Chateau Marmont hotel on Sunset Boulevard photos at my main website.
3 comments:
Ordinarily I would not be behind the idea of painting a brick wall. Things like that have more value in their original, unpainted condition. On this occasion I would actually side with the painted wall. White with scripted lettering gives it a very "Wilshire Boulevard" look to it. It's actually an improvement along with the tent and a more formal valet area. It's hard to believe anybody would still have TV antennas today. I can't believe those were up until such a recent year.
Lovely pictures of a lovely building. What a difference a couple decades' worth of foliage makes!
I never cease to be surprised at the lack of TV antennas on every building, because they used to be so ubiquitous. Gosh, I can remember climbing out on the roof to adjust the aerial when the rotor wasn't working, listening for a yell from inside that I'd gotten the right position. Attaching big, elaborate arrangements of coat hangers and aluminum foil to the portable TV in the bedroom to get a fuzzy picture from the UHF station a few cities away.
And when I got my fist mini satellite dish, going out and cutting all those pesky tree branches blocking the signal. Then in winter, other branches would get weighed down with snow, and you'd have to go out and shake the snow off the get the branch out of the way. We've come a long way, baby!
Bryan - I am right with you on the painted vs. non-painted brick and agree that I support it in this case!
Melissa - You are bringing back memories of TV reception issues. I remember for one of the season finales on the original "Melrose Place,” my cable had been accidentally turned off and my friends were on the way over to watch it. I had to take my TV set up to the balcony and work feverishly to get the antennas to pick up a station that was about 45 minutes away so that we could watch it....and boy did the picture suck!
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