Chateau Marmont Hotel
| Chateau Marmont | |
|---|---|
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| Location | 8225 Marmont Lane and 8221 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California |
| Coordinates | 34°5′53″N 118°22′07″W / 34.09806°N 118.36861°WCoordinates: 34°5′53″N 118°22′07″W / 34.09806°N 118.36861°W |
| Built | 1929 |
| Architect | William Douglas Lee |
| Governing body | Private |
| Designated | 1976 |
| Reference no. | 151 |
 Location of Chateau Marmont in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
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Chateau Marmont is a hotel located at 8221 Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. The hotel was designed by architect William Douglas Lee and completed in 1929. It was modeled loosely after the Château d'Amboise, a royal retreat in France's Loire Valley.
The hotel has 63 rooms and suites.
In 1926, Fred Horowitz, a prominent Los Angeles attorney, chose the site at Marmont Lane and Sunset Boulevard to construct an apartment building. Horowitz had recently traveled to Europe for inspiration and returned to California with photos of a Gothic Chateau along the Loire River. In 1927, Horowitz commissioned his brother-in-law, European-trained architect Arnold A. Weitzman, to design the seven-story, L-shaped building based on his French photos. When deciding upon a name for the building, Chateau Sunset and Chateau Hollywood were rejected in favor of Chateau Marmont, a name conceived by the small street running across the front of the property.
On February 1, 1929, Chateau Marmont opened its doors to the public as the newest residence of Hollywood. Local newspapers described the Chateau as "Los Angeles's newest, finest and most exclusive apartment house […] superbly situated, close enough to active businesses to be accessible and far enough away to insure quiet and privacy." For the inaugural reception, over 300 people passed through the site, including local press. Due to the high rents and inability to keep tenants for long-term commitments during the depression, Fred Horowitz chose to sell the apartment building to Albert E. Smith for $750,000 in cash. In 1931, Chateau Marmont was converted into a hotel. The apartments became suites with kitchens and living rooms. The property was also refurbished with antiques from depression-era estate sales.
Designed and constructed to be earthquake proof, Chateau Marmont survived major earthquakes in 1933, 1953, 1971, 1987 and 1994 without sustaining any major structural damage. Nine Spanish cottages, as well as a swimming pool, were built next to the hotel in the 1930s and were acquired by the hotel in the 1940s. Craig Ellwood designed two of the four bungalows in 1956, after he completed Case Study Houses. During the 1930s, the hotel was managed by former silent film actress Ann Little. During the 1940s, the hotel served as an air-raid shelter for residents in the surrounding area.
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