Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Knickerbocker in 2006
Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Location	1714 Ivar Avenue, Hollywood, California
Built	1925 or 1929
Architect	John M. Cooper and/or E. M. Frasier
Architectural style	Spanish Colonial and/or Renaissance Revival/Beaux Arts
Part of	Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District (ID85000704)
Designated CP	April 4, 1985

The Hollywood Knickerbocker Apartments, once known as the Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel, is a famous building in Hollywood, California. You can find it at 1714 Ivar Avenue. This historic building used to be a fancy apartment hotel. Today, it serves as a retirement home for older adults.

The Knickerbocker is well-known because many classic Hollywood stars lived or visited there. In the 1940s, people even called it "the Hotel of the Stars" and "Home of the Famous." It holds many stories from Hollywood's exciting past!

Discovering the Knickerbocker's Past

How the Knickerbocker Began

Postcard showing the hotel around the 1940s

The Knickerbocker was designed by architects John M. Cooper and/or E. M. Frasier. There are different ideas about when it first opened. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce says it started as luxury apartments in 1925 and later became a hotel. However, the United States Department of the Interior states it opened as a hotel in 1929.

This grand building cost about $1.5 million to build. When it first opened, it had 500 rooms and 200 suites, offering lots of space for its guests.

The Golden Age of Hollywood Stars

The Knickerbocker quickly became a popular spot for the growing film industry. Many of Hollywood's biggest stars stayed there, and it was the setting for some memorable events.

• Rudolph Valentino, a very famous silent film star, was said to visit often. This would have been possible if the hotel opened in 1925, as he passed away in 1926.
• In October 1935, actress Betty Grable threw a fun costume party at the hotel. It was to celebrate Jackie Coogan's 21st birthday. Guests included future star Lucille Ball and songwriter Johnny Mercer.
• On Halloween in 1936, Bess Houdini held her tenth and final séance on the hotel's roof. She was trying to contact her late husband, the famous magician Harry Houdini. This event became a big news story!

The hotel continued to be a glamorous place through the 1950s.

• Movie star Marilyn Monroe and baseball legend Joe DiMaggio often met at the hotel bar.
• In 1954, comedy stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were surprised in their room (room 205) by a TV show called This Is Your Life. They weren't too happy about the surprise!
• Elvis Presley stayed in room 1016 while filming his first movie, Love Me Tender.

Many other famous people also stayed at the Knickerbocker during its busiest years. These included Bette Davis, Cecil B. DeMille, Cary Grant, Howard Hughes, Frank Sinatra, Lana Turner, Mae West, and Judy Garland.

Changes Over Time

By the late 1960s, the area around the Knickerbocker started to change. In 1970, the hotel was turned into senior housing for older residents.

In 1984, the Knickerbocker Hotel was recognized as an important part of the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District. This district was added to the National Register of Historic Places, which helps protect important historical sites. In 1999, a special plaque was placed in the lobby to honor D. W. Griffith, a famous film director who spent his last year there.

In 1998, the Knickerbocker's bright neon sign was lit up again after being dark for many years. This was part of an effort to bring back the old sparkle and excitement of Hollywood.

Building Style and Look

The Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel has an interesting mix of architectural styles. The United States Department of the Interior describes it as having Classical architecture. However, the Los Angeles Water and Power Associates mention that it features Spanish Colonial and Renaissance Revival/Beaux Arts styles.

The building is shaped like a "U" and has a balanced look on its main front side. It has a decorative band (called a stringcourse) that separates the ground floor from the upper floors. The windows on the upper floors in the middle section have stone decorations.

The hotel's lobby was once considered "the most elegant in Hollywood." It combined Italian, French, and Spanish styles to create a very grand entrance.

Knickerbocker on Screen

Because of its central location in Hollywood, the Knickerbocker building has appeared in many movies and TV shows.

• In the 1936 film The Reckless Way, a character played by Marian Nixon worked in the hotel.
• The hotel was used as a background for a meeting in the 1950 movie 711 Ocean Drive.
• The hotel and its surroundings were also featured in the opening scene of an episode of the 1966 TV series Mission Impossible.
• From 1964 to 1970, viewers of The Hollywood Palace TV show often saw the hotel and its neon sign. It was in the background of performances filmed in the Hollywood Palace's parking lot, right behind the hotel.
• The sign above the front entrance, which said "hotel," was still there when the TV series Mannix filmed a scene there in 1970.

See also

• List of contributing properties in the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District