Dunbar Hotel
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Somerville Hotel
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Dunbar Hotel, 2008
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| Location | 4225 S. Central Ave., Los Angeles, California |
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| Coordinates | 34°0′25″N 118°15′21″W / 34.00694°N 118.25583°WCoordinates: 34°0′25″N 118°15′21″W / 34.00694°N 118.25583°W |
| Built | 1928 |
| Architect | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Mission/Spanish Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 76000491 |
| LAHCM # | 131 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | January 17, 1976 |
| Designated LAHCM | September 4, 1974 |
The Dunbar Hotel, originally known as the Hotel Somerville, was the focal point of the Central Avenue African-American community in Los Angeles, California, during the 1930s and 1940s. Built in 1928, it was known for its first year as the Hotel Somerville. Upon its opening, it hosted the first national convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to be held in the western United States. In 1930, the hotel was renamed the Dunbar, and it became the most prestigious hotel in LA's African-American community. In the early 1930s, a nightclub opened at the Dunbar, and it became the center of the Central Avenue jazz scene in the 1930s and 1940s. The Dunbar hosted Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Lena Horne, and many other jazz legends. Other noteworthy people who stayed at the Dunbar include W. E. B. Du Bois, Joe Louis, Ray Charles, and Thurgood Marshall. Former heavyweight champion Jack Johnson also ran a nightclub at the Dunbar in the 1930s.
As of October 2008, the Dunbar Hotel is no longer a hotel and currently has 32 residents living in its 73 apartments. Due to nonpayment of taxes, the building is likely to be foreclosed into City of Los Angeles ownership.
The hotel was built in 1928 by John and Vada Somerville, socially and politically prominent black Angelenos. John Somerville was the first black to graduate from the University of Southern California. The hotel was built entirely by black contractors, laborers, and craftsmen and financed by black community members.
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