11/10/2020 The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 34°6′4″N 118°20′30″W

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is a historic hotel located
at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los The Hollywood Roosevelt
Angeles, California. It opened on May 15, 1927, and is the oldest Hotel
continually operating hotel in Los Angeles.[2]

Contents
History
Design and style
Restaurants and bars
In popular culture
Notable residents and guests
Alleged hauntings
See also
References
External links

History A 2015 photo of the Hollywood

Roosevelt Hotel

The hotel was built in 1926, in what is known as the Golden Era
of Los Angeles architecture, and was named after the 26th
president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt.[3] It was
financed by a group that included Louis B. Mayer, Mary
Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Sid Grauman.[4][5] It cost
$2.5  million ($36.8  million today) to complete[5] and opened The
on May 15, 1927.[5] Hollywood
Roosevelt
The hotel went into a decline in the 1950s. An owner around Hotel
that time demolished its archways, covered up its elaborately
painted ceilings and painted the entire hotel seafoam green.[6]
Radisson Hotels purchased the hotel in 1985 and, using original
blueprints and historic photos of the hotel's Spanish Colonial
architecture, undertook a $35 million renovation, restoring the Location within the Los Angeles
lobby's coffered ceiling and adding a three-tiered fountain, metropolitan area
among other improvements.[3][6] The million-dollar mural at
Show map of the Los Angeles
the bottom of the hotel's Tropicana Pool was painted by David
metropolitan area
Hockney in 1987.[7][8]
Show map of California
On August 13, 1991, the City of Los Angeles declared the hotel Show map of the United States
building Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. Show all
545.[5][9] In 1995, the hotel was purchased from Clarion Hotels
General information
by Goodwin Gaw, with David Chang later becoming co-
owner.[7][8][10] In 2005, the hotel's management was taken over Location 7000 Hollywood Blvd.
by the Thompson Hotel Group. A$30 million renovation of the Hollywood, Los
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hotel was embarked upon in 2005, led by the Dodd Mitchell Angeles, California
Design Group, and David Siguaw.[10][11][12] Since 2015, the Coordinates 34°6′4″N
hotel has been run independently by its own management
118°20′30″W
company.[10] In 2015, the hotel completed a $25  million
renovation with rooms designed by Yabu Pushelberg, and plans Opening May 15, 1927
for a new poolside food and beverage outlet.[7] Owner Goodwin Gaw
David Chang
Design and style Technical details
Floor count 12
The 12-story hotel has 300 guest rooms including 63 suites.[7]
Design and construction
It sits along the Hollywood Walk of Fame and across the street
from the TCL Chinese Theatre.[7][13] The building has a Spanish Architect Fisher, Lake & Traver
Colonial Revival Style interior, with leather sofas, wrought-iron Other information
chandeliers and colorful tiled fountains.[2][13]
Number of 300
The Gable-Lombard penthouse, a 3,200 square-foot duplex rooms
with an outdoor deck with views of the Hollywood Hills and the Number of 63
Hollywood sign, is named for Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, suites
who used to stay in the room for five dollars a night.[2][5][14]
Number of 2
The Marilyn Monroe suite is named for the actress, who lived at
the hotel for two years early in her career.[2][5][7] Other restaurants
accommodations include King Superior rooms and vintage Website
1950s poolside cabanas.[5] thehollywoodroosevelt.com (http://ww
w.thehollywoodroosevelt.com/)
Restaurants and bars
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural
The hotel has a total of eight restaurant, bars and lounges.[5] 25 Monument
Degrees is a 24-hour hamburger restaurant located just off the Designated 1991[1]
[5] [8]
hotel lobby. It was opened in 2005. Public Kitchen & Bar
Reference no. 545
features American food in an Old Hollywood-style dining
room.[5] Tim Goodell is the head chef of both restaurants.[5]
The Spare Room is a gaming parlor and cocktail lounge; the Library Bar is a cocktail bar with cocktails
made using locally sourced ingredients; and Tropicana Bar overlooks the pool.[5][15] Beacher's
Madhouse is a vaudeville-inspired theater owned and operated by Jeff Beacher.[5] Teddy's, a
nightclub located right off the lobby, was considered a celebrity haunt. It opened in 2005, was
remodeled in 2012 and closed in 2015.[5][15]

In popular culture
The first Academy Awards ceremony was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on May 16, 1929,
inside the Blossom Ballroom.[9][14] A private ceremony open only to Academy members, it was hosted
by Academy president Douglas Fairbanks and held three months after the winners were announced,
with 270 people in attendance.[16][17] At the time, the "Oscar" nickname for the award had not yet
been invented (the nickname would be introduced four years later).[17]

Facing heavy debt in 1986, five-time Academy Award winner Lyle Wheeler sold off boxes of his
possessions, including his five Oscars. His award for art direction for The Diary of Anne Frank was
auctioned off for $21,250 to William Kaiser. Kaiser returned the award to Wheeler at a ceremony held
at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in 1989.[18]

The hotel has hosted the Golden Raspberry Awards, the ceremony recognizing the year's worst in film,
on numerous occasions.[19]
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The pool at the Roosevelt Hotel was featured in a 1955 episode of I Love Lucy when the Ricardos and
Mertzes came to Hollywood.[20]

Several scenes from the 1988 film Sunset, starring Bruce Willis and James Garner, were filmed at the
hotel, including a recreation of the 1929 Academy Awards ceremony.[6]

The scene of the 1989 film The Fabulous Baker Boys where Susie (Michelle Pfeiffer) sings "Makin'
Whoopie" while Jack (Jeff Bridges) plays piano was shot at the Cinegrill nightclub in the hotel.[19]

The hotel's hallway can be seen in episode 7 of the 2016 FX true crime anthology television series The
People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, as a substitute for an Oakland hotel where
Christopher Darden and Marcia Clark spend the night.[21]

Other films shot on location at the hotel include Internal Affairs (starring Richard Gere), Beverly
Hills Cop II (starring Eddie Murphy) and Catch Me If You Can (starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom
Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg).[6][22] Other television shows shot at the hotel include Knots
Landing, Moonlighting and Curb Your Enthusiasm.[6][23]

Prince performed five shows at the hotel in 2007, which included dinner with his personal chef, a two-
hour performance and a post-set jazz jam.[24]

The TV series Lucifer frequently includes exterior views of the hotel in establishing shots. A scene
between Lucifer and Amenadiel in the first season episode "Take Me Back to Hell" takes place on the
roof, with the back of the Roosevelt's sign visible.

The Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode "Out of the Past" featured the hotel prominently
throughout the episode.

Notable residents and guests

Marilyn Monroe lived at the hotel for two years early in her career, and posed for her first commercial
photography shoot by the pool.[5][7] She and Arthur Miller were said to have met at the hotel's
Cinegrill nightclub.[14]

Montgomery Clift stayed at the hotel for three months in 1952 during the filming of From Here to
Eternity.[2]

Frances Farmer was honored at a party there in 1958, the night she appeared on Ralph Edwards' This
Is Your Life.

Errol Flynn is rumored to have created his recipe for bootleg gin in a tub in the hotel's barbershop.[23]

Shirley Temple learned to do her famous stairstep dance routine on the hotel stairs.[25]

Astrologer and writer Linda Goodman wrote several of her books in a suite at the hotel.[19]

Actress Elizabeth Patterson, widely recognized for her role as Mrs. Trumbull on the classic comedy
series I Love Lucy, lived in the hotel during her 35-year film and television career.[26]

Other notable hotel guests include Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Max Baer Sr., Carole Lombard, Mary
Martin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Mike Posner, Prince, Brad Pitt and Angelina
Jolie.[7][14]

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel often uses the hotel as a prize for a game called "Hostel La Vista" that
pits two tourists that are visiting Los Angeles staying in a nearby youth hostel against each other. In
this game, the contestants are asked various questions about the city of Los Angeles and the state of
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California as a whole. The player who gets the most questions right wins, leaves the hostel and gets to
stay at the hotel for the remainder of their stay for free.[27]

Alleged hauntings
Throughout the years, there have been rumors of hauntings and ghosts at the hotel. Some involve
celebrities who previously stayed at the hotel, such as Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift and Errol
Flynn.[9][28][29] Others involve a little girl in a blue dress named Caroline.[30] There have also been
reports of cold spots, photographic "orbs", and mysterious phone calls to the hotel operator.[31]

See also
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Hollywood

References
1. Los Angeles Department of City Planning (February 28, 2009). Historic – Cultural Monuments
(HCM) Listing: City Declared Monuments (http://cityplanning.lacity.org/complan/HCM/dsp_hcm_re
sult.cfm?community=Hollywood). City of Los Angeles.
2. Jason Sheeler, "Go inside – and bowl with Brad and Angelina – at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel"
(http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/style/travel/20110503-go-inside-and-bowl-with-brad-and-ang
elina-at-the-hollywood-roosevelt-hotel-.ece), Dallas Morning News, May 3, 2011.
3. Jack Smith, "The glory that was Hollywood before it became Hollyweird returns to the Hollywood
Roosevelt Hotel" (http://articles.latimes.com/1986-02-04/news/vw-4310_1_hollywood-boulevard),
Los Angeles Times, February 4, 1986.
4. "Classic Locations: Oscar slept here" (http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/21/entertainment/la-et-s
ider-20110221), Los Angeles Times, February 21, 2011.
5. "The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel: The Story of an L.A. Icon" (http://www.discoverlosangeles.com/b
log/hollywood-roosevelt-hotel-story-la-icon), Discover Los Angeles, May 14, 2014.
6. "The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel" (http://www.seeing-
stars.com/Hotels/HollywoodRoosevelt.shtml), seeing-stars.com. Accessed June 24, 2016.
7. Nancy Trejos, "The Hollywood Roosevelt hotel gets a makeover" (https://www.usatoday.com/stor
y/travel/roadwarriorvoices/2016/03/16/hollywood-roosevelt-hotel-gets-makeover/81864156/), USA
Today, March 16, 2016.
8. Gina Piccalo, "Old star, blazing scene" (http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jul/31/entertainment/ca-ni
ghtclub31/2), Los Angeles Times, July 31, 2005.
9. Thomas Dangcil; Tommy Dangcil (September 2002). Hollywood, 1900–1950, in Vintage Postcards
(https://books.google.com/books?id=733QQYBx1C8C&pg=PA85). Arcadia Publishing. p. 85.
ISBN 978-0-7385-2073-5.
10. Lisa Chamberlain, "Yes, It Has a Mood, but It’s Not a 'Boutique'" (https://www.nytimes.com/2007/1
0/28/realestate/commercial/28sqft.html), The New York Times, October 28, 2007.
11. Norma Meyer, "This old hotel" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160814223059/http://www.sandiego
uniontribune.com/uniontrib/20041026/news_1c26house.html), San Diego Union-Tribune, October
26, 2004.
12. "Projects" (http://www.doddmitchell.com/projects.htm). Dodd Mitchell Design. Retrieved
November 3, 2016.
13. Sara Benson, "The Hollywood Roosevelt" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/north-a
merica/united-states/california/los-angeles/hotels/the-hollywood-roosevelt/), The Daily Telegraph.
Accessed June 24, 2016.
14. Stephen Dolainski (1 September 2001). Los Angeles: Romantic Diversions in and Around the City
(https://books.google.com/books?id=gQIUFyikr4gC&pg=PT125). Globe Pequot Press. p. 125.
ISBN 978-0-7627-1024-9.
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11/10/2020 The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel - Wikipedia

15. Jessica Gelt, "Teddy's enters second stage of life" (http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/19/entertai

nment/la-et-night-teddys-20130419), Los Angeles Times, April 19, 2013.
16. Melena Ryzik, "A Navel-Gazing Oscar Countdown" (http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/1
2/07/a-navel-gazing-oscar-countdown/), The New York Times, December 7, 2010.
17. Stephen Farber, "Janet Gaynor Recalls the First Awards" (https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/28/ar
ts/janet-gaynor-recalls-the-first-awards.html), The New York Times, March 28, 1982.
18. Olivia Rutigliano, "6 Amazing Oscar Heists and 5 Happy Endings" (http://www.vanityfair.com/holly
wood/2016/02/stolen-oscars), Vanity Fair, February 19, 2016.
19. David Blend, "11 Things You Didn’t Know About the Supernatural Party Palace" (https://www.thrilli
st.com/node/2913165), Thrillist, September 13, 2012.
20. Marc Wanamaker; Robert W. Nudelman (2007). Early Hollywood (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=TBljuKCnX3kC&pg=PA60). Arcadia Publishing. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-7385-4792-3.
21. Lindsay Blake, "Where to Find the Most Notable Filming Locations from The People vs. O.J.
Simpson" (http://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/where-to-find-the-most-notable-filming-locations-fro
m-the-people-vs-o-j-simpson/), Los Angeles, April 5, 2016.
22. "Lost Angeles Hotels in the Movies: Making the Big Screen" (http://www.discoverlosangeles.com/b
log/los-angeles-hotels-movies-making-big-screen), Discover Los Angeles, November 18, 2014.
23. Stacy Conradt, "The Quick 10: The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel" (http://mentalfloss.com/article/214
83/quick-10-hollywood-roosevelt-hotel), Mental Floss, April 17, 2009.
24. "Prince's Dinner Theater" (http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jun/21/news/wk-hotticketb21), Los
Angeles Times, June 21, 2007.
25. "5 Cool Facts About the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel" (http://www.leisurelink.com/5-cool-facts-abou
t-the-hollywood-roosevelt-hotel/), Leisure Link, May 21, 2015.
26. "The Divine Miss Patty" (http://www.lucyfan.com/misspatty.html). We Love Lucy. Retrieved
2016-07-16.
27. Jimmy Kimmel Live (March 16, 2017), Hostel La Vista with Cousin Sal (https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=aFzNYYMiJvI), retrieved September 29, 2017
28. Lovgren, Stefan (December 4, 2003). "Do Real Haunted Mansions Hold Sway in Hollywood?" (htt
p://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/12/1204_031204_hauntedhollywood.html). National
Geographic News. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
29. Gomes, Mayra Dias (October 11, 2013). "THR's Guide to L.A.'s Most Haunted Locations" (http://w
ww.hollywoodreporter.com/news/haunted-locations-los-angeles-hollywood-645040). The
Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Eldridge Industries. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
30. Kern, Will (October 31, 2004). "Hotel has glut of ghosts" (http://www.willkern.com/roosevelt.html).
The Denver Post. Cited at wilkern.com. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
31. "This old hotel is a Hollywood haunt, in every sense of the word" (http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-searc
h/we/Archives?p_text_direct-0=0EB736A34DC5570D&p_field_direct-0=document_id). The
Philadelphia Inquirer. November 26, 2000. Retrieved March 29, 2013.

External links
Official website (https://www.thehollywoodroosevelt.com/)
The Spare Room website (http://www.spareroomhollywood.com/)

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