El Royale

The El Royale is a historic apartment complex located at the intersection of Rosewood Avenue and Rossmore Avenue in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was designed by famed architect William Douglas Lee[1][2] and completed in 1929.

El Royale
Location450 North Rossmore Avenue, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Coordinates34.07856°N 118.326874°W / 34.07856; -118.326874
Built1929
ArchitectWilliam Douglas Lee
Architectural style(s)Spanish Renaissance Revival
Websiteelroyaleapartments.com
Official nameEl Royale Apartments
DesignatedSeptember 2, 1986
Reference no.309

The apartment building is known as a home for celebrities, and for its iconic green neon rooftop sign, which had been unlit for 50 years.[3]

History
Entrance to the El Royale

The El Royale was constructed in 1929, underwritten by the Barco Investment Company.[4] William Douglas Lee, architect of the famed Chateau Marmont, was conscripted for the design.[4] It was created as a fusion of Spanish Colonial Revival, French Rococo, and Renaissance styles and featured modern state-of-the-art amenities such as an elevator, neon sign, and putting green. It also showcased luxuries including marble floors, elaborate chandeliers, panoramic penthouse views, and hand-carved wood.[5][4]

In 1952, the apartments purchased the Union Oil Building at S Hope Street and 7th Street in Downtown Los Angeles as an investment for $2.2 million[6] (equivalent to $21.2 million in 2019). In November 2012, the El Royale was purchased by Kamran Hakim and Farhad Eshaghpour for $29.5 million in cash.[7][8][9]

Legacy
Façade of the El Royale

The El Royale has been known as a home for celebrities over the years, including Nicolas Cage,[10] Huell Howser,[11] Al Jolson,[12] and George Raft.[13]

Scenes for Double Indemnity (1944) were filmed in the building's garage.[14] The front facade of the building has been used in scenes for the TV series All of Us and Girlfriends, implying that one of the fictional characters from each show lived at the apartments. The El Royale, however, is not the setting of the 2018 movie Bad Times at the El Royale.

References
  1. "El Royale Apartments". www.elroyaleapartments.com. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  2. Meares, Hadley (June 2, 2015). "The Story of the El Royale, the Most Glamorous Apartment Building in LA". Curbed LA. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  3. Hawker, Philippa (May 28, 2016). "Neon's lasting glow". The Age. Melbourne. p. 18.
  4. Meares, Hadley (June 2, 2015). "LA's most glamorous apartment building". Curbed LA.
  5. "El Royale Apartments". Calisphere.
  6. "Union Oil Co. Building Sells for $2,200,000". Los Angeles Times. February 29, 1952. p. B1.
  7. Blum, Lauren Schuker (November 1, 2012). "A Hollywood Icon's Turning Point". The Wall Street Journal.
  8. Katz, Joelle (October 8, 2012). "Iconic El Royale Sells for Nearly $30 Million". The Hollywood Reporter.
  9. Vincent, Roger (October 7, 2012). "Celebrity magnet El Royale tower said to sell for record price". Los Angeles Times.
  10. "Rattled his cage". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, New York. June 26, 1991. p. 24.
  11. Thompson, Zan (August 24, 1986). "Lights Go On Again All Over El Royale". Los Angeles Times. p. 10.
  12. Ryon, Ruth (January 25, 1987). "Celebrity Homes, Landmarks on Itinerary: Taking a Bus Tour Through L.A.'s Past". Los Angeles Times. pp. H1–6.
  13. Sikov, Ed (April 1996). "George Raft". Architectural Digest. Vol. 53 no. 4. Los Angeles. p. 160.
  14. Hopper, Hedda (November 23, 1943). "Looking at Hollywood". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 19.


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