The eleven-story Knickerbocker Hotel, now senior home Hollywood Knickerbocker Apartments, (1714 Ivar Ave, Los Angeles, CA) is one of the old historic Los Angeles Hotels that has seen notoriety and was the scene for some of Hollywood’s most famous dramatic moments.
Built in 1925[1] by E. M. Frasier in Spanish Colonial style, the hotel catered to the region's nascent film industry. Rudolf Valentino was a regular at the bar before his death in 1926. On Halloween 1936, Harry Houdini's widow held her tenth séance to contact the magician on the roof of the hotel.[1] Frances Farmer was arrested in her room at the hotel in 1943, after skipping a visit with her parole officer. D. W. Griffith died in the lobby of the hotel in 1948.
The hotel retained its glamor through the 1950s. Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio often met in the hotel bar. Elvis Presley stayed at the hotel (Room 1016) while making his first film, Love Me Tender (1956).[1]
In 1962 celebrated Hollywood costume designer Irene, believed to be despondent over Gary Cooper's death, committed suicide by jumping from her 11th floor room window.
On March 3, 1966, veteran character actor William Frawley was strolling down Hollywood Boulevard after seeing a film when he suffered a major heart attack. His male nurse dragged him to the hotel where he died in the lobby. Contrary to popular belief, Frawley did not live in the hotel at the time. Although Frawley had spent nearly 30 years living in a suite upstairs, he had moved to the nearby El Royale Apartments several months before.
Later, the hotel played an important part in the movie, The Graduate (1967), as the scene of Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft's first romantic encounter.
By the late 1960s, the neighborhood had deteriorated, and the hotel became a residence primarily for drug addicts and prostitutes. In 1970, a renovation project converted the hotel into housing for senior citizens; it continues in this capacity today. In 1999, a plaque honoring Griffith was placed in the lobby.
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Coordinates: 34°06′09″N 118°19′40″W / 34.1024215°N 118.3277589°W
References
- ^ a b c Lord, Rosemary (2003). Hollywood Then and Now. San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay Press. p. 87. ISBN 1-59223-104-7.
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