Random Strange History Of Los Angeles's Most Infamous Hotels (12 items)

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  (#12) Chateau Marmont Hotel

  • Accommodation

  The Chateau Marmont opened in February of 1929, but it was originally an exclusive apartment building. However, the high rent kept occupancy down during the Depression, and it was sold and converted to a hotel. The fortress-like appearance, large suites, and thick walls made the Chateau Marmont ideal for Hollywood stars of the 1930s to misbehave in during the Motion Picture Code days. The Chateau values its guests' privacy, and employees are sworn to secrecy, but there are thousands of rumors swirling around. It's been said that Howard Hughes peeped on beach bunnies from his room. Jim Morrison once jumped off the roof – so high at the time that he walked away just fine. John Belushi overdosed and died in his suite. More recently, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears have called the place home during their darker days.
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  (#3) Contractors Discovered A Long-Forgotten Speakeasy Beneath The Hotel Rosslyn Annex

  The Rosslyn Hotel Annex in downtown Los Angeles opened in 1923 on the corner of 5th and Main. It was designed by the Parkinson and Parkinson Firm in the Beaux Arts style and still stands today, although it has been re-purposed as low income housing. In 2010, the building was bought by the SRO Housing Corporation, and they discovered a long-forgotten speakeasy, the Prohibition haunt for those looking for a good time when drinks were hard to come by. Down in the basement, they found a barbershop and bathrooms directly across from a speakeasy named the Monterey Room. There was also a marble-lined tunnel that led up to 5th Street and a secret passage that led to the original Hotel Rosslyn across the street. 
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  (#5) Tropicana Motel

  • Location

  At one time owned by Sandy Koufax, the Tropicana Motel did not have much going for it esthetically, but it made up for it with amazing clientele. Located in West Hollywood on the corner of Santa Monica and West Knoll, it was just a hop, skip, and jump down the road from the Troubadour. As a result, just about every rock band from the '60s through the late '70s set up camp at the famed budget motel. Jim Morrison was often there. Led Zeppelin and the Mamas and the Papas were frequent guests.Tom Waits was a long-term resident. He even broke off a section of the kitchen counter so he could move a piano into the kitchen. The Clash and Blondie had memorable visits. The motel’s restaurant, Duke’s, was a late-night hangout for the after hours crowd. Unfortunately, the location was too good, and it all came to an end in 1987 when the wrecking ball cleared the way for a new and bigger Ramada. 
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  (#4) Hotel Alexandria

  • Location

  The Hotel Alexandria is located in downtown Los Angeles. It opened in February 1906 and was the nicest hotel in Los Angeles before the Biltmore was built. The Alexandria was so popular that a second building was built, and then a neighboring wing was added. The added wing was on the adjacent property and owned by William Chick. He built the building to connect to the Alexandria – the hallways from the original building were extended onto his new addition, and the add-on rooms were handled just like the rest; the guests checked in at the front desk as usual, etc. 

  In 1938, ownership changed hands, and the hotel became the property of Phil Goldstone . At the time, the add-on wing was owned by William Chick’s daughter. They argued over finances, and Goldstone eventually sent in bricklayers to seal off the original hotel from the Chicks' building. William Chick never planned on running his rooms separately from the main hotel, so there was no lobby or check-in for the wing. To make matters worse, there weren't even stairs connecting the sealed-off floors to each other, and there was no retail space on the ground floor. The phantom wing was completely cut off from the outside world and lay undisturbed until 2012, when it was finally bought and converted to condos.
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  (#10) Hollywood Stars Fished For Their Dinner At The Sportsmen's Lodge

  The Sportsmen’s Lodge has a long and storied past. Located in Studio City, it is just three miles from Universal Studios and Hollywood. It has had various names and passed through countless owners. In the 1920s, it was still primarily known as Hollywood Trout Farm, although it offered hotel accommodations, as well. Republic Pictures was located nearby, and its Western film stars often stopped off at the Trout Ranch for a bit of fishing and a drink on the way home to their little ranches in the San Fernando Valley. At this point, Roy Rogers and Rex Allen, John Wayne and Gene Autry were all regulars. 

  In 1945, the name was officially changed to Sportsmen’s Lodge. Hollywood A-listers often caught fish off the storied docks, and the kitchen would then cook up the catch. Clark Gable, Katherine Hepburn, and Humphrey Bogart were regulars at this point. The Lodge made adjustments as the San Fernando Valley grew and developed into a sprawling suburbia. A ballroom was added – it was the only large room for rent in the region, and it could hold 500 guests. Many San Fernando residents were married at the hotel, had bar mitzvahs, and hosted family celebrations in the ballroom throughout the '50s and '60s – becoming a beloved institution in the process. The Sportsmen’s Lodge is still open for business, but major overhauls have made it virtually unrecognizable.
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  (#1) Knickerbocker Hotel

  • Accommodation

  The Knickerbocker Hotel opened in Hollywood in July of 1929. Famed architect EM Frasier designed the hotel in the Spanish Colonial Style, and it immediately attracted the film industry’s elite. It was perhaps best known for two things – its world class bar, the Lido Room, which hosted live Tango music, and the lobby’s chandelier. The light fixture cost a reported $120,000 in 1925. 

  The Knickerbocker had a lot of ups and downs. It began as one of the hippest hotels in town and hosted celebrities Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe on their honeymoon. However, there are reports of Monroe’s ghost haunting the lobby. Elvis stayed at the Knickerbocker while filming his first movie, Love Me Tender. In some of the more "down" moments for the hotel, director DW Griffith had a stroke in his room at the hotel and died shortly thereafter, and Frances Farmer was dragged kicking and screaming while in a manic stupor from the hotel, institutionalized the next day. Irene Lentz, a costume designer who was deeply bereaved by the death of Gary Cooper, committed suicide by jumping from the building. In the 1960s, the neighborhood began to decline, and the hotel was converted to a Senior Living home. 

  Today, it is best remembered for its association with Harry Houdini. When Houdini died in 1926, he promised his wife Bess that he would visit her from beyond if it were possible. Bess held a séance on Halloween for 10 consecutive years. The tenth and final year was a media sensation – even the Los Angeles Times covered it. The seance was on the roof of the Knickerbocker Hotel. That night, Houdini failed to reach out to the gathered. As the séance disbanded and the guests began to mingle, the sky opened up and thunder and lightning rained down. They all rushed inside for cover. The next day, they discovered that it did not rain anywhere else in Los Angeles. 

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