Built 1928 LAHCM # 336 Opened 8 December 1928 Added to NRHP 7 July 2015 | NRHP Reference # 15000378 Designated LAHCM January 1, 1988 Architectural style Art Deco Architect S. Charles Lee | |
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Location 5504 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood Similar Hollywood/Western station, Saban Theatre, Hollywood Melrose Hotel, Tower Theatre, Huntridge Theater | ||
The Hollywood & Western Building, also known as The Mayer Building, and formerly known as the "Hollywood Western Building", is a four-story Art Deco office building located at 5504 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #336 on January 1, 1988, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
Designed by S. Charles Lee, and built by Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg, the building opened on December 8, 1928. The building was the first location of Motion Picture Association of America, Central Casting, the Hays Office, and The Ben Hecht Company. Hollywood Billiards, Hollywood's oldest pool hall, was located in the lower basement of the building. Over the years its tenants have also included Toppy's (a corner coffee shop), Newman Drug Co., Rexall, Bargain Saver, Hollywood Rehearsal Studios, Studio 9, Rock City Arcade, and Cosmopolitan Book Depository.
By the 1970s, the building was being used to produce pornography and was slowly converted in individual rehearsal studios as the area where the building was located became increasingly crime-ridden and dangerous. The building was used in Double Indemnity, Ruthless People, and Hollywood Shuffle and was a regular shooting location for numerous TV productions. It was also used as a rehearsal studio for such bands as Guns N' Roses and White Zombie.
The building was heavily damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake and was vacant for several years. It has since been renovated, and its tenants as of 2013 included the local offices of Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell.