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.
Video Chateau Marmont Hotel
History
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.
On March 24, 1976, Chateau Marmont was named one of Los Angeles' Historical-Cultural Landmarks.
Maps Chateau Marmont Hotel
Operations and restoration
The hotel was acquired and restored in 1990 by André Balazs. Updating the property was a notable task as he faced the need to modernize the hotel, while also receiving pressure from the hotel's dedicated fans to preserve Chateau Marmont's character.
For the restoration, Balazs strove to create the illusion that the hotel had been untouched notwithstanding renovations. The entire facility was re-carpeted, repainted and the public spaces were upgraded.
Restaurant and Bar Marmont
The hotel restaurant terrace and Bar Marmont both feature market-fresh California cuisine from chef Dean Yasharian.
Hollywood landmark
Throughout the years, Chateau Marmont has gained recognition. Director Sofia Coppola shot her film Somewhere at the hotel in 2010. James Franco created a grand scale replica of the Chateau Marmont for his Rebel Without a Cause exhibit at MOCA in 2012. The opening scene of the indie neo-noir film The Canyons was shot at the Bar Marmont. The hotel was also a location for Oliver Stone's The Doors. Singer Lana Del Rey lived at Chateau Marmont during the beginning of her fame in 2012, as well as alluding to the hotel in her song "Off to the Races" from her album Born to Die, and in various unreleased tracks. It is also the office of fictional paparazzi Patrick Immleman in the Panel Syndicate web comic The Private Eye.
Sharon Tate and husband Roman Polanski took up a short-term residency in 1968, as did Jim Morrison in 1970.
Billy Wilder, Hunter S. Thompson, Annie Leibovitz, Dorothy Parker, Bruce Weber, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tim Burton, Jay McInerney, Terry Richardson, Death Grips and Ville Valo, among others, have also produced work from within the hotel's walls. John Belushi died of a drug overdose in Bungalow 3 on March 5, 1982.
The hotel features in The Big Nowhere, the second of James Ellroy's L.A. Quartet novels. It is also mentioned in Charles Bukowski's major work Hollywood, Father John Misty's song "Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins), and is the setting of the Grateful Dead song "West L.A. Fadeaway".
The hotel makes a brief appearance in the 2016 musical film La La Land.
See also
- Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Hollywood
References
- Balazs, Andre (1996). Hollywood Handbook. Universe. ISBN 0789300230.
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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