Vintage Postcards
Then & Now
When it first opened in 1954, the Saharan, under the management of Herman Stein and Fred Waitsman, was a beacon of luxury for modern bachelors. Its amenities, including a heated pool, free parking, and morning newspapers, were designed to entice and cater to the discerning guest.
However, the Saharan didn'tdidn't waste time before cementing its place in city history. Two years after opening, L.A.'sL.A.'s underworld boss, Jack Dragna was found dead inside the motel.
Checking in under Jack Baker's alias, a maid reportedly found Dragna in his pink pajamas. Police discovered his ID showing a West Covina address belonging to his nephew Louis.
Sometimes referring to himself as a banana merchant, Dragna's false teeth and heart pills were on the nightstand.
The don's late-model Cadillac was found outside the motel. The Palermo native and rival of Mickey Cohen was taken to Utter-McKinley mortuary in Hollywood (which became the Demorest Theatre/ATA in the 1970s).
Despite the tumultuous events of its early years, the Saharan has stood the test of time. Under various upgrades and owners, it has maintained its place in the city.
In 1994, one hotel guide described it as "Unexciting but functional, and comparatively good value, considering its helpful location. "This enduring legacy is a testament to the Saharan's resilience and adaptability.
SAHARAN HOTEL
7212 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046
The original 12-story hotel was owned and built by Robert Tishman in December 1965. It was the 10th building along Wilshire developed by Tishman Realty, which soon added the Tishman Plaza across the street.
The luxury hotel included the Tudor Room restaurant, a cocktail lounge, and banquet room. The 410-room Sheraton-Wilshire Motor Inn added newer amenities, such as Cafe Carnival, and became the Wilshire Hyatt House in 1969.
Tishman sold to Equitable Life Assurance Society in 1977, which purchased several Tishman properties, including the land under the hotel.
One notable guest was author Hunter S. Thompson. Writing in his 1973 campaign book, Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72, the author fondly recalled his stay,
I’m into my eighteenth day as resident of the Wilshire Hyatt House Hotel, and I am getting to know the dreary routine of this place very well. Outside of that pigsty in Milwaukee, this may be the worst hotel in America.
As the New York Times reported in June 1972,
The Wilshire Hyatt House, where Senator George McGovern is staying, features a singing group called The April Fools. That billing on the marquee could also refer to most of the politicians and newsmen in town, all those experts who thought, only two months ago, that Senator McGovern's lonely, long‐distance run for the Democratic Presidential nomination would collapse well before the finish line
Despite Thompson’s harsh review, the hotel received an award five years later when John Chop won “Best Bartender in America” for his Chop Nut concoction.
That year, a visibly frail Grouch Marx made his final public appearance at the hotel after a Hollywood Hall of Fame ceremony.
The Koreatown hotel became the Radisson Wilshire Plaza in the early 1990s and was later purchased by the Sydell Group, which extensively rebranded the place as the Line Hotel in 2014.
SHERATON WILSHIRE MOTOR INN
3515 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90005
Built by Los Angeles architect Kazumi Adachi, the Starlite Motel opened in 1959 at a cost of roughly $1M. The accommodating hostelry featured "hi-fi piped into every unit."
The owner of the Starlite Motel was Max E. Lipman, operator of multiple motels including; the El Rancho Motel in Arizona, the Ranch Inn (Las Vegas), the Vista del Sol in Palm Springs, and a Holiday Inn, Venice.
Opening night festivities included a luau with Reno entertainers, Johnny Ukulele, and his Polynesians. The popular singer, born John Ka'aihue, also played the Tai Ping Restaurant on Crenshaw Blvd. The singer's daughter, Mary Kaye, was an established musician herself.
Ka'aihue died in 1971 at the age of 70.
Although known for his mid-century houses, the Japanese architect who often collaborated with Dike Nagano previously worked on the Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial Wall in downtown Los Angeles (1951), the Imperial Gardens on Sunset (1957), and a house chapel in Northridge (1958).
In 1980, Adachi — along with Kiyoshi Sawano and Hideo Matsunaga, worked on the six-story Japanese American Center.
The hillside Starlite Motel survived until recently, known briefly as Hotel Silver Lake Los Angeles, though appears to have closed its doors.
STARLITE MOTEL
250 Silver Lake Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004
Under the vast shadow of 9000 Sunset highrise, the quaint Sunset-Dohney Motor Hotel appeared around 1960 and occupied the space at Sunset and Hilldale Avenue in West Hollywood.
One guest who made a name for himself was Richard Hone. The twenty-year-old hitchhiker was sent to State Prison for the 1962 savage beating and robbery of prominent Beverly Hills psychiatrist, Dr. Harry N. Nierenberg.
After a scuffle at the Sunset strip motel, Hone reportedly drove the doctor to his Beverly Hills medical office where Hone departed with various items (presumably without permission) — and left the doctor beaten and unconscious. The married doctor told police he picked up Hone as a hitchhiker in Hollywood.
Barely hanging on, the site was razed in the early 1990s and remains vacant.
SUNSET DOHENY MOTEL
8970 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Situated next to the Hollywood Center Motel, the Sunset Lodge opened in 1954.
In some form or another, various businesses have occupied the Sunset and Las Palmas corner; the Writers' Club headquarters, the Sunset Arbor Cafe, (“Hollywood's New Clublike Restaurant - with all women cooks”), and the Don Martin School.
The Sunset Lodge was the site of an attempted robbery-homicide in 1985, when a guest was bound, gagged, doused with lighter fuel, and set ablaze. The suspect was hiding under a bed across the street at the French Cottage Motel (formerly the Riviera Motel). Demolished in 2008.
Today, the Sunset Lodge operates as the Hollywood Guest Inn. Hopefully the sprinklers work.
SUNSET LODGE MOTEL
6700 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90028
SUNSET MARVEL
5308 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Following the kidnapping of wealthy San Diego racetrack honcho Anthony Alessio in 1960, three people were apprehended by J. Edgar Hoover's finest at the normally unassuming Sunset Marvel motel, along with the ransom money.
The Marvel endured drastic cosmetic alterations and was last sold around 1986. Today the place is providing acceptable comfort, plus LED TV as the Economy Inn.
Sitting pretty on the corner of Sunset and Orange (oddly enough) in Hollywood is the Sunset Orange Motel, built around 1950.
In 1966, architect Stephen Oppenheim, who occupied the adjacent building, bought the motel in the hopes of razing it to build a larger complex. Those plans went awry during the mid-1970s recession.
The comfortable hostelry counted some famous guests, including garage band The Chocolate Watchband, who called the place "a home away from home," and Austrian serial killer Jack Unterweger, who probably didn't say much about it.
The motel fell into disrepute in the early 1980s (as did much of the area). The Oppenheims claimed they were unaware of the motel's open-door policy with prostitutes and clashed with the city. Police would later use the motel for surveillance.
The couple told authorities that motel managers who refused to rent to prostitutes were threatened by their pimps. The oblivious owners still hoped to raze the money-losing motel.
Today, however, you won't find a mint on the pillow, but you will gladly line up for a freshly baked Double-Double at In-n-Out Burger (which has occupied the land since the mid-1990s).
SUNSET ORANGE MOTEL
7001 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
SUNSET PALMS MOTEL
7160 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90046
Built in 1954, the non-descript Sunset Palms Motel came up during a vice squad investigation only one year later. Officers looking into a Hollywood call girl operation arrested two women on moral charges, one of whom had previously been accused of slashing the face of singer Billy Daniels with a butcher knife in 1950. Her listed address was the Sunset Palms.
Three years later, German scientist Edward Roka took his life in a room at the motel by ingesting a mix of hydrochloric acid and lemon juice. Papers speculated he may have been losing his memory.
Decades later, the motel was featured in the novel Species by Yvonne Navarro.
With most of its' original design falling prey to ugly renovations, it survived as the Hollywood Studio Inn & Suites. However, the motel was converted in 2010 into housing for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness and mental health conditions.
SUNSET VERMONT TRAVELODGE
1401 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Built around 1955, the motel found itself in the crime bulletin during a rash of kidnappings that struck the city in 1959. A pair of brazen gunmen had been forcing people at gunpoint to drive to various motels — one victim was taken to the Sunset Vermont, forced to strip, and taped to the bed.
The 43-unit motel survived until only recently and appears to be up for sale.
Tiki fever hit Laguna Beach in 1960 with the Outrigger Restaurant, the Polynesian addition to the existing Surf and Sand Hotel. The Outrigger was built by Glenn Billingsley.
The Southland cafe man and nephew of famed New York restaurant Sherman Billingsley also operated the Golden Bull Steak and Chop House chain.
Built-in 1949, the Surf and Sand cliffside resort faced the ocean and was built with a series of graduate levels to the beach. Originally starting with 24 units, its style was listed as “Latin-American Modern,” and it quickly added six more units and a pool.
The Surf and Sand was sold in 1951 to Cal Pearce, a Laguna Beach realtor, and expanded in 1967 with an additional 63 units and a coffee shop. The Towers Restaurant was remodeled in 1984, and the hotel underwent a $20M renovation in 1991.
Operators of The Outrigger also opened Taco Tienda in 1961. Located across from Peck Park, Taco Tienda became Taco Bell.
OUTRIGGER RESTAURANT
1465 S Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Opened in August 1955, the restaurant joined other eateries at the Welton Becket-designed Beverly Hilton hotel, including L'Escoffier, The Bali Room, The Lounge, The Red Lion ("restricted to gentleman until 4 PM"), and the Coffee House.
Proprietor Victor Bergeron, who died in 1984, opened his first South Seas eatery in Oakland — originally a hunting-themed dive bar he called Hinky Dink's, and expanded to Seattle and then San Francisco in 1951 (the Samoan Fog Cutter was a favorite).
The tiny eatery opened on Cosmo Place, across from the Bohemian club. And while the menu was billed as Polynesian, it leaned more toward Chinese.
They were originated by me here and in Honolulu and anyone who says different is a dirty stinker.
- Victor Bergeron explaining the Scorpion drink to LIFE magazine, September 1944. The drink cost $2.50 and served four people.
Although Bergeron retired in 1971, the self-titled maestro of mai-tai's remained involved in various aspects and was also a food consultant to United Airlines. Bergeron's son Lynn (1941-2016) was President of the company – and added locations that year in Florida and Kansas.
The hallowed San Francisco spot (where entry to the Captain's Cabin was open to those of certain pedigree) closed in 1993. Plans to reopen fell through, and the company attempted a new, less formal chain called Island Bistro, with locations in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The much-loved San Francisco spot became Le Colonial in 1998. And courageously hanging on, the Beverly Hilton location made changes with a slimmer drinks menu and a new chef.
Sadly, the restaurant's fate was sealed in 2003 when Beverly Hilton owner Merv Griffin sold the whole complex. The new owner made plans to build a 12-story luxury hotel next to the Beverly Hilton – thus, the wooden huts, seashells, starfish, and crab rangoon would be razed.
THE TRADERS
9876 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
THE WILSHIRE TWILIGHTER
4300 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90010
Completed in 1958, the three-story, 100-room hotel was designed by architects Sam Reisbord & Associates at a cost of $1M. The hotel also featured drive-in registration and pool-side coffee shop.
Often working with Alvin Lustig and Fred Posner, Sam Reisbord was involved in many other Southern California properties including; Beverly-Carlton Apartments (1948), Beverly-Landau apartments (1949), Mark-Stephens office building (1956), and the Warner Victory Center in 1966.
The Wilshire Twilighter became the Dunes Motel around 1977 and still stands today.
Built in 1950, the 66-unit Sovereign Arms Apartments was owned by Jacob Cohen and Sam Okun. The three-story, French Normandy building was designed by William G. Chandler – who also designed the Sycamore Palms.
Along with a splash of new paint, ownership changed in 1970, when rent peaked at a whopping $450 a month (you’re paying for the 24-hour switchboard service).
During the next decade, the Sovereign Arms became the Century Wilshire Hotel, and by 1980, when the elite Wilshire Corridor was brimming with new high-rise condos, the old Sovereign Arms was replaced with the shiny Century Wilshire.
The building was purchased in 2006 by a New York developer, demolished, and reborn as the Carlyle. Needless to say, the monthly rent increased a bit.
WESTWOOD SOVEREIGN
10776 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024
WILSHIRE TERRACE
10375 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Proudly claiming itself to be “the West’s most exclusive apartment residence”, the very modern Wilshire Terrace was built in 1958 by the Tishman Realty construction company. Designed by Victor Gruen & Associates, the high rise was also one of the first buildings to exceed the 13-story height limitation.
The co-op building (purchase but not rent) was ready for fine living thanks to amenities such as; beauty parlor, barber shop, and valet & laundry service. The 100-unit building also added a number of fine dining establishments including; Le Frenchman, which oddly enough, was a French restaurant, Pietro’s Cosmopolitan Restaurant, and Gene Shanks’ eatery.
Residents must have had a conniption in 1975 when a man referred to in the press as a “human fly burglar”, scaled 10 floors of the luxury condo, and was shot in the leg by West Los Angeles police after leaping from the wall and running off. He was taken to UCLA Medical Center.
Tenants included Billy Wilder.
WINONA MOTEL
5131 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Developed Anthony Collazo, a Glendale-based developer, the Winona Motel was built in 1955 by architect Jack Chernoff. The the 25-unit motel was described as "Hawaiian-Modern-Styled".
Chernoff and his wife formerly managed the Mohawk Motel in the West Adams district and built another Hawaiian-themed property with Collazo in Glendale —
the 1956 Maple Manor.
Other properties included: 235 South Normandie, the Fontaine-Bleau Apartments in West Hollywood, the Vogue Apartments, the Oceana in Santa Monica, the
Stardust Apartments in Baldwin Hills, and the Nickoloff Building on South Vermont (demolished).
The architect remained busy up until the 1980s — one of his last properties was the Beverly Towers.
As for the Winona Motel, today it is anything but Hawaiian or modern. The rundown motel with an embarrassing paint job is operating as the Hollywood Inn Express North. Despite reviews praising the courteous staff, others noted the smell of weed and bed bugs.