Hollywood Tower

Infobox_nrhp | name =Hollywood Tower, fka La Belle Tour
nrhp_type =


caption = Hollywood Tower, 2008
location= 6200 Franklin Ave., Hollywood, California
lat_degrees = 34
lat_minutes = 6
lat_seconds = 19
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 118
long_minutes = 19
long_seconds = 24
long_direction = W
locmapin = California
area =
built =1929
architect= Cramer & Wise
architecture= Late 19th- And 20th-Century Revivals, Renaissance, Other
added = January 22 1988
governing_body = Private
refnum=87002291cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Hollywood Tower, originally known as La Belle Tour, is a large apartment building in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The tower, built in 1929, was a popular residence for entertainment industry employees for many years and has often been cited as the inspiration for Disney's Twilight Zone Tower of Terror rides. The real-life Hollywood Tower was listed in the National Register of Historical Places in 1988.

ophisticated living in Hollywood's "Golden Age"

The V-shaped building, designed by architects Cramer & Wise in a faux French Normandy style, was built in 1929. At the time, it was a Class A building with more than 50 apartments, three penthouse units, a subterranean garage, and private and public roof gardens. Located in the heart of Hollywood, the tower became a favorite place of residence for entertainment industry employees.cite news|author=Roger Vincent|title=Historic Hollywood Tower gets sold for $34.9 million|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=2007-04-18] A plaque by the front door reads: "Hollywood Tower. 1929. Sophisticated living for film luminaries during the 'Golden Age' of Hollywood." Actor George Raft owned an interest in the building and lived there for a time. [cite book|author=Marc Wanamaker, Robert W. Nudelman|title=Early Hollywood, p. 95|publisher=Arcadia|date=2007|isbn=0738547921] In her novel "Stormy Weather", Paula L. Woods wrote: "Hollywood Tower was a seven-story, indecisive gray building at the corner of Franklin and Vista Del Mar in Hollywood. The faux French Normandy apartment building was so old it probably had a view of the sea when it was built ... Hollywood Tower, though, was a last vestige of an earlier era. You could tell by the way the planting in the front was kept neatly trimmed and the lobby smelled Spic-and-Span clean." [cite book|author=Paula L. Woods|title=Stormy Weather: A Charlotte Justice Novel, p. 104|publisher=W.W. Norton & Co.|date=2001|isbn=0393020215]

The building directly abuts the Hollywood Freeway, and its neon "HOLLYWOOD TOWER" sign looking directly over the northbound freeway is a Hollywood landmark. Hollywood historian Marc Wanamaker said, "It has been a major landmark since it was built. Even before the freeway, it was a landmark on that hill."

Inspiration for Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Though the architectural styles differ, the Hollywood Tower is "often cited as the inspiration" for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror rides at Disney themeparks in California, Florida, France and Japan. Like the real-life Hollywood Tower, the "Hollywood Tower Hotel" structure in the Disney theme parks bears the same classic "Hollywood Tower" sign and spiraling towers. Disney also later released a "Tower of Terror" film based on the popular ride.

Purchases and sales of the property

The building was purchased over the years by South American investors for $300,000 in 1937, [cite news|title=La Belle Tour Holdings Sold: South American Buyers Invest in Hollywood Property|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1937-07-25] by Justus P. Seeburg in 1939 for $250,000, [cite news|title=Building Sold for $250,000 Heads Large Sales Volume|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1939-11-26] and by Sam Gutlin in 1953 for $642,000. [cite news|title=Sale Announced|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1953-06-07]

In 1978, the Hollywood Tower was sold to Deseret Properties, a Glendale, California firm owned by Blain Anderson. [cite news|title=Hollywood Renovation Job Assigned|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1978-05-14] cite news|author=Ruth Ryon|title=Offers Reduced Rent, No Fees, Utilities Paid: Hollywood Landlord Courting Seniors|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1981-05-17] When Deseret bought the property, it was in poor shape, and the new owner invested approximately $50,000 in new carpeting and paint. However, Deseret found the project to be difficult to operate due to the adoption of rent control by the City of Los Angeles in 1978, and problems collecting rent from tenants who "didn't get that part" or "didn't sell that piece of music." In order to achieve a more stable flow of rental income, the new owner began courting senior citizens as tenants, and by 1981, 31 of the building's 56 apartments were occupied by senior citizens.

The building was sold in 2007 for $34.5 million to a Phoenix-based developer with plans to build additional units on the land across Vista del Mar.

Historic designation

The Hollywood Tower was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

References