Vintage Postcards
Then & Now
Designed by Southland architect firm Palmer & Krisel, the 34-unit motor hotel opened in 1960.
As the 1970's wore on, the motel provided more than just bad advice for tourists and a warm fridge in every room: they changed their name to the Sunset 400 and added X-rated movies, flotation waterbeds and mirrors. By 1982, local authorities made efforts to cleanup the area and looked no further than the notorious Sunset 400.
Amongst the many issues were reports of local students from Hollywood High School being accosted and threatened by pimps and prostitutes (making their teachers look good). After being shut down for a month, the owners agreed to reopen with stricter regulations in an effort to curb the illicit behavior.
But students looking to maintain a solid GPA needn't have worried; the motel fell under new ownership countless times and some units were reduced to make way for a take-out restaurant. Today, the motel is the community college-bound Rodeway Inn.
IMPERIAL 400, SUNSET
6826 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90028
Diners in Los Angeles looking for a little South Sea magic headed to The Islander on La Cienega. The two-story building sat on simulated coconut tree stilts, accommodating 300 guests, and a sunken cocktail lounge overlooking tropical gardens.
The famous Polynesian eatery opened in 1959 and was operated by Bernard Tohl and his wife, Janet. Patrons could feast on Samoan Sea Scallops or Roast Duck Imperial Flambe while downing various exotic drinks.
The spot also hosted private parties; the Pago Pago Room could accommodate 90 guests. Rumor had it that Marlon Brando was a fan of their Lover's Hut Room.
The couple also operated several other eateries, including The Captain's Table, The Innkeeper, and The Blue Boar Tavern — formerly the Piccadilly.
Tohl added yet another restaurant to his La Cienega collection: Cappuccino. In 1972, actor Cesar Romero took over the place, which became Casa Cugat in the 1980s.
Born in Northampton, Massachusetts, Tohl also enjoyed a career in law and passed the state bar exam in 1970. The energetic restaurateur was also President at Temple Isaiah in Palm Springs.
The restaurant held on until around 1983. The following year, the spot became 385 North (oddly enough), with chef Roy Yamaguchi delivering Japanese/American/French dishes.
The cool, sleek, pink stucco made an appearance in a dramatic 1986 episode of NBC's Miami Vice ("Yankee Dollar") and doubled as a strip club in Beverly Hills Cop II.
However, the 'haut-tech' menu changed to Southwest in 1987 when 385 North transformed into Rosalie's, which became El Paso Cantina/Acapulco Restaurant (later razed).
Today, the entire space is occupied by a completely redundant, large, mixed-use building. Bernard Tohl passed away in 2015.
ISLANDER RESTAURANT
385 N La Cienega Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90048
Built on the German Methodist Hospital site, Kingsley Manor was built in 1940 by architect Claude A. Faithful and operated by Pacific Home, which also operated several hospitals in Claremont and La Jolla.
Situated on a nine-acre triangular tract, the non-profit Kingsley Manor began with 138 rooms and was once the largest retirement complex in the city.
Among the many natural deaths that occurred there (the average age of their patients was 82), the Manor suffered two suicides; the first was in 1952, when a 78-year-old woman hung herself from a shower curtain rod. Four years later, a 70-year-old woman leaped to her death from the roof. A night watchman found her body.
Today, however, the grounds have been cleared of patients (primarily dead ones), and Kingsley Manor continues to operate a fine facility.
KINGSLEY MANOR
1055 N Kingsley Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90029
The County Museum of Art's origins go back as far as 1959, when the County approved expansion plans, specifically to add an auditorium and an exhibition hall to the art gallery already planned for the county-owned park on the Miracle Mile on Wilshire Blvd.
The three buildings would be known as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and financed privately through the non-profit organization Museum Associates. By 1960, the organization had raised $4.5M towards the new Hancock Park project. Among the board members was actor and narrator Vincent Price, also known as an esteemed art collector.
Los Angeles selected architect William L. Pereira and began its path to becoming one of the world's great cultural centers. Construction for the new facility cost around $11M.
The County Museum of Art opened in April 1965 and consisted of three structures on a raised plaza above a reflecting pool. The largest was the four-level Ahmanson Gallery, followed by the two-level Lytton Gallery and the Leo S. Bing Center, with its 600-seat auditorium.
With the creation of the Music Center and the County Museum of Art, Los Angeles will never again have to fear being regarded as a culturally deprived area. Its cultural life will soon match and someday perhaps even surpass that of the East Coast.
- Henry Seldis. LA Times 6/20/65
Four years after opening, the Lytton Gallery (Special Exhibitions Gallery) was renamed The Frances and Armand Hammer Wing—named for Dr. Hammer, chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corporation. The museum trustee and his wife were major contributors. That year, the pair also presented the museum with a Renoir and Modigliani.
In January 1978, the Hammer wing hosted the phenomenally popular "Treasures of Tutankhamun"—the largest exhibit of ancient Egyptian art ever to visit the United States.
To quell the rush of unprecedented crowds outside the venue, the museum sold tickets in advance. It partnered with local department stores: The Broadway, Bullock's, May Company, and Ohrbach's, each of whom offered to sell tickets to the exhibit at no cost throughout their locations.
After the exhibit moved to Seattle in October, it was reported that the museum had doubled its membership from 30,000 to 63,000 and increased public awareness.
Plans to expand the museum began in the early 1980s, which by then was referred to as an aging, confused conglomeration. Critics labeled Pereira's work "hopelessly out of date when it opened in 1964". Its three original buildings now appeared awkward and dysfunctional -- the old reflecting pools had long since been replaced with a sculpture garden.
The result was the Robert O. Anderson building ("New Babylon Meets Wilshire Boulevard"), named for philanthropist and chairman of Atlantic Richfield (Arco) and designed by the New York firm Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, the new Post-Modern wing with three levels of public gallery space and a new central courtyard opened in November 1986. The expansion added over 50,000 square feet of exhibition space (larger than New York's Guggenheim or Whitney).
L.A.'s time has come. The city reflects the Pacific Rim and Asia the way New York reflected Europe 200 years ago. It's very international.
- Norman Pfeiffer, 1986.
Other projects for the architectural firm, founded in 1967, included the expansion of the Los Angeles Central Library in 1987.
The late 1980s saw other significant buildings adding to the cultural hub: Arata Isozaki's Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), which opened in late 1986 on Bunker Hill, the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills was transformed into a museum housing the contemporary collections of Frederick Weisman, UCLA's Museum of Cultural History received its campus museum, and the Afro-American Museum of Cultural History had opened in Exposition Park, albeit a few years earlier.
Toward the decade's end, LACMA added the Pavilion for Japanese Art. Designed by Bruce Goff (who passed away in 1982) and completed by college Bart Prince, the $12.5M structure housed the Oklahoma art collector and patron Joe D. Price collection, including Edo-period Japanese screen and scroll paintings.
Despite the revered collection, the building, which was designed to display art in natural light, received mixed reviews concerning its lighting. A sensor system was added, triggering lights on gloomy days and winter afternoons.
The museum experienced its bravest change in 2001 when Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas proposed wrapping the complex under a translucent Mylar membrane. The bold and stunning plan to rebuild also included revamping the Bing Theater and razing most of the William Pereira-designed campus.
The plan was abandoned a year later due in part to the exorbitant price tag ($200M and up) and having to shut LACMA down for five years to rebuild. By 2003, new plans were on the table to renovate LACMA West (the former May Company Department Store, purchased in 1994).
In 2010, the museum unveiled the $54M Resnick Pavilion, the second building Renzo Piano designed. The Italian architect was behind the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM) two years earlier.
LACMA's transformation took another step forward with Swiss architect Peter Zumthor's large-scale rebuilding plan. With a price tag of $750M, demolition began in 2020, reducing the east campus to rubble.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART
5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Two buildings by developer Henry Sassoon.
On the right is the 600 East Ocean apartment building. Built in 1963, the modern high-rise debuted its “sky suite” in 1967, with interiors designed by Buffums Interior Design Center. The goal was to illustrate “the look and leisure of high-rise living.”
The with-it living complex was home to the “Never On Friday Club” — an organization that arranged swinging parties for fun-loving, unmarried young adults. Events cost $2.50 and were held at the Playboy Club on Sunset or nightly at the Long Beach Clubhouse — currently home to a pet supply store.
Radio station KNAC installed a new antenna on the roof in 1967. Motivated listeners could catch Breakfast at the Towers on Sundays at 7 AM.
Sassoon sold the building to Los Angeles developer Herbert Enoch in 1966.
The adjacent 34-story International Towers were initially known as Tower Sixes, after the physical address of 666 East Ocean. Owned by Henry Sasson, the impressive new structure was designed by Carl Toroedsson and engineered by Tung-Yen Lin.
The circular high-rise — reportedly the tallest structure west of Chicago — opened in early 1966 with a suitable razzle-dazzle. A week-long celebration featured an “International Display” of eight apartments appointed in decor from various countries.
The complex was topped with a gourmet restaurant and cocktail lounge, making one complete revolution hourly. In the mid-1970s, the shoreline hotel became a popular vantage point for catching the Long Beach Grand Prix.
Sassoon sold the building to California Savings and Loan and later established Sassoon Development in Beverly Hills.
LONG BEACH BUILDINGS
600-700 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach CA 90802
Formerly, the Colonial Drive-In was a quaint hilltop carhop that offered sandwiches, fresh juices, pastries, and its famous Nutburger.
The Marquis was opened by Paul Valencia in 1946, and for a time, patrons were often greeted by a Stripper—actually, the name of a friendly bowtie-wearing feline that sat by the entrance. The noted singer also operated the Coronet Cocktail Lounge on Sunset a few years earlier (the place went bankrupt in 1948 and reopened as the Roundup Cafe).
The Marquis suffered a blaze that ripped through its upper floor in 1952. Verlengia opened the Prince Royale eatery at 7800 Sunset in 1960. Faster than you can say, Cannelloni Nicoise, the original name was changed to the Four Trees Restaurant that same year. After a few years as Abbruzzi Restaurant, the joint was razed and reborn as a bank in the 1980s.
Along with partners Thomas Seward, and William Kennedy, George Dolenz bought the Marquis in early 1957. The venture ended abruptly six years later when Dolenz (and Monkee patriarch), the swashbuckling star of TV’s Count of Monte Cristo, was inspecting construction work on the roof and died of a heart attack.
Fire crews whisked the risky roofer to Citizens Emergency Hospital in Hollywood, but he was pronounced dead.
New owners Ciro ‘Mario’ Marino (d. 2009) and Tony Riccio changed the name to Martoni Marquis in 1971 and added dinner theatre to the menu. The duo formerly operated Martoni Restaurant in Hollywood (previously Joe’s Little Italy).
Proprietor Tony Riccio jumped ship in 1974 and headed to Palm Springs, where he opened his new restaurant at Hotel Trinidad.
Back on Sunset, the Marquis became Carlos ‘N Charlies around 1977, survived another decade, and later operated under various identities in the 1990s: Ace of Clubs, Casablanca, and Club 8240 (which featured House of Flesh).
By 1997, it was fair play when the site was reborn as Dublin’s Irish Whiskey Bar, which packed it in around until 2006. A new restaurant serving Modern American cuisine, Sunset Beach, lasted a couple of years.
Today, the corner spot is yet another appalling excuse for design.
MARQUIS RESTAURANT
8420 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood, CA 90069
When your Disneyland motel room has a view of the Monorail and the Matterhorn, you've chosen well.
The 1961 motel on Harbor Blvd was built in 1961 by Ken Kimes — who sold the place a year later. The Santa Ana-based developer also built the 1963 Tropics Hotel in Palm Springs (currently the Caliente Tropics Resort).
The FBI arrested the enterprising motel magnate in 1985 on suspicion of enslaving and abusing four immigrants. His accomplice was his wife, Sante.
The couple met in 1970 and had one child, Kenneth Jr.
Affectionately known as the "Dragon Lady," Sante wound up a convicted murderer, con artist, robber, serial arsonist, and possible serial killer. Oddly enough, in 1972, the Twin Dragon restaurant opened next door — they still have a location in West Los Angeles.
Sante's crimes (committed with her son Kenneth) received the TV-movie treatment in the 2004 epic Like Mother Like Son, with Mary Tyler Moore. Her ex-husband passed away in 1994. Sante Kimes was found dead in her prison cell in 2014.
Their son is serving a life sentence at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
The Mecca Motel went the way of the People Mover and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Today, the notorious motel goes by the unimaginative name "Best Western Plus."
MECCA MOTEL
1544 S Harbor Blvd, Anaheim, CA 92802
Built in 1956 by Lawrence Harris, the downtown motel managed to survive a number of years before its eventual decline. Although the motel saw some structural editing, part of the original signage made it as late as 2009, when the spot was taken over by the Vantage chain. The motel is part of the "America’s Best Value Inn" chain.
In the background is the former Seventh Street Hotel. Opening in 1923 as the Hotel Commodore, the dilapidated building was earmarked as senior housing in the 1980s, but plans fell through. The structure still stands today, albeit with modified signage.
MOTEL DE VILLE
1123 West 7th Street, Los Angeles CA 90017
Designed by Chinese American architect Gilbert L. Leong, the 24-unit motel in Chinatown has survived since 1960, when it was operated by restaurant owner, Nelson Moy Sr. — a Chinese native who ran a number of live poultry shops.
Moy Sr. (who passed away in 2001) opened Confucius Delicacies in Chinatown. The building still carries the sign for its former owner, United Foods — the company he purchased in 1975.
The modern Chinatown property also had the distinction of being the first Gold Medallion apartment house in the area. Even better, the motel was briefly featured in a January 1984 episode of The A-Team (“Maltese Cow”).
Gilbert Lester Leong (1911-1996) was founder of East West Bank.
MOYTEL
946 Yale Street, Los Angeles CA 90012
Built in 1956, the 32-unit Oasis Motel was designed by Jack Charney and Alfred March. The corner motel was operated by Lawrence Siegel of Kent Inns.
The Oasis went adult in the early 1970s (“Seeking a new pleasure? Enjoy a water bed!”), and after a sprucing up (thorough bleaching) in 1975, Fodor’s Travel Guide later noted “this hotel is a favorite with Korean tourists… Sports enthusiasts find the Oasis convenient to the sports arena.”
Currently the Tuscan Garden Inn. Rooms are available.
OASIS MOTEL
2200 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90006
Built in 1960 by Richard L. Dorman & Associates, the Park Plaza Lodge was owned in part by Renard Sandore and Norman Sheren; the pair also operated the King’s Half-Size Dress Shop and Petite Girl stores at the nearby Farmers Market.
In the July 1960 issue of Architectural Record (“Small Hotel Designed For Growth“), the motel was featured along with some original details;
This 25-guest room motor hotel is the first phase of a project which will cover the entire block, half of which is shown in the plan below. The adjacent addition will be an elevator-serviced five-story building of 85 rooms built about a patio with a swimming pool, and will incorporate a restaurant at ground level.
The motel expanded with additional rooms, a revamped lobby, and added a Jan’s restaurant in 1964. The diner, which won a design award from Institutions Magazine in 1967, was purchased in 1983 by the founder of Astroburger/Astro Coffee Shop.
The Post and Beam restaurant became Schroeder’s coffee shop in the mid-1970s, and the structure has survived as various restaurants.
During their first trip to Hollywood in 1981, Evil Dead producer Robert Tapert noted they stayed at the Park Plaza Lodge.
PARK PLAZA LODGE
6001 West Third Street, Los Angeles CA 90036
Formerly the site of a gas station, the downtown Los Angeles motel was built around 1963 — in time for the World Series, which the hotel gladly advertised was minutes from the ballpark (presumably that’s driving, not walking).
In February 1968, a man entered the lobby and shot and wounded two strikebreakers from the Herald-Examiner newspaper. One of the men later died from his wounds.
The downtown Royal Host (which also operated in Denver), was out of business by the mid-1990s. Reviews at the time praised the place as “A ritzy budget hotel — great rooms with bathtubs, telephone, radio, and cable TV.”
The dual-branded Marriott hotel opened on the site in 2014. The tall, white structure in the background is the Hotel Figueroa, which has survived.
ROYAL HOST OLYMPIC
901 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015
Built on the site once occupied by the Royal Hawaiian Estates, the Royal Inn Palm Springs opened in late 1965. Developed by former Travelodge executive Earl Gagosian, the 70-unit motel ("where the guest is always treated like a King") featured sauna baths, therapeutic pools, shuffleboard, and a nine-hole putting green.
The luxury spot was absorbed by Best Western and rebranded the Royal Sun Hotel around 1980.
It marked the beginning of Royal Inn's ambitious expansion, which eventually included Jolly King Restaurants, Royal Table restaurants, and the Lost Knight Cocktail Lounges, establishing a coast-to-coast presence.
Headquartered in La Mesa, the chain rapidly expanded, opening additional locations throughout Southern California. In 1972, the Royal Inn Tijuana was added to the portfolio. However, the company faced financial setbacks, reportedly due to the Arab oil embargo, leading to Gagosian's resignation (or forced departure) a year later. Despite these challenges, the company restructured and continued its journey, establishing hotels in El Paso, Des Moines, and South Bend.
After the chain went bankrupt in 1976, Gagosian formed Continental Inns, which became part of Howard Johnsons.
The Utah native passed away in 1990.
ROYAL INN PALM SPRINGS
1700 S Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92264
Tentatively named the Valley Ho, the Royal Oaks was built by the Southland architectural firm Palmer & Krisel in 1959 for developer Louis Colton. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by Ben Hecht, and Patti Lawler (“Miss Sherman Oaks of 1959”).
In his 2010 book Ann Harding - Cinema's Gallant Lady, author Scott O'Brien noted the actress and her companion Grace Kaye lived at the motel in the 1970s. The Royal Oaks survived until around 1979.
ROYAL OAKS MOTEL
4747 Sepulveda Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
The 23-unit Scandinavian-inspired motel was built in 1956 by the Brown Motel Investment Company. The place was owned by Dr. Gerald Anderson, and the design was handled by Robert Ashton, along with architects Butler & Butler.
As always, a no-nonsense downtown L.A. motel belies its share of intriguing history. In 1963, it was reported that the night clerk had passed away. Nothing unusual, except this employee was Joan Crawford's older brother.
Hal Hayes LaSeuer died of a ruptured appendix and was buried at Forest Lawn. Sadly, only a handful of mourners said their farewells; his sister was not one of them.
The motel manager’s wife told a reporter he lived paycheck to paycheck and resided at the nearby Parkway Motel (currently the Casa Bella Inn).
The Royal Viking made the papers again, this time in 1984 when the motel was robbed by a group referred to in the press as a "mini-Manson family".
The height-challenged hellraisers were actually transients looking to rid Santa Monica Boulevard of male prostitutes. After the robbery (which may have been staged), an argument ensued on how to divide the money.
One of the participants - a male prostitute - was killed and had his body dumped.
The motel was a hub of activity again when an old lady was arrested on the premises in November of 1988.
In this case, the graying gangster was Dorothea Montalvo Puente aka the “Death House Landlady”. Puente ran a boarding house in Sacramento and had killed at least nine of her unsuspecting tenants.
The mature fugitive had poisoned and strangled some of her guests before burying them on her property and cashing their Social Security checks (and I thought my landlord was bad).
She was sent to the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, where she died in 2011 (maintaining her innocence).
THE ROYAL VIKING
2025 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90057