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Taft Building (Los Angeles)

Taft Building
Taft Building
Taft Building (Los Angeles) is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Taft Building (Los Angeles)
Location of building in Los Angeles County
Location6280 W. Hollywood Blvd. and 1680 North Vine Street, Hollywood, California
Coordinates34°06′05″N 118°19′35″W / 34.10139°N 118.32639°W / 34.10139; -118.32639
Built1923
ArchitectPercy A. Eisen, Albert R. Walker
Architectural styleneo-Renaissance
Part ofHollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District (ID85000704)
LAHCM No.666
Significant dates
Designated CPApril 4, 1985
Designated LAHCMSeptember 29, 1999

Taft Building is a historic twelve-story building at 6280 W. Hollywood Blvd. and 1680 North Vine Street, Hollywood and Vine, in Hollywood, California.

History

Taft Building was built for A.Z. Taft, Jr. (1889–1941), who purchased the Hollywood Memorial Church for $125,000 ($2.31 million in 2024), tore it down, and commissioned Taft Building on the property.[1] The architecture firm Walker and Eisen, known for the Fine Arts Building, James Oviatt Building, and Beverly Wilshire Hotel, amongst others, designed the building, which features Classical Revival architecture.[2] The building was constructed in 65 days and opened in 1924,[3] making it the first high-rise office tower in Los Angeles.[4]

The building's primary tenants were dentists (including Clark Gable's), doctors, and lawyers,[3] and every Hollywood movie studio had an office in the building, as did Charlie Chaplin, Will Rogers, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and numerous agents, casting companies, and publicists.[1][4]

In 1984, the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District was added to the National Register of Historic Places, with Taft Building listed as a contributing property in the district.[2] In 1999, the building was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #666.[5]

In 2011, Langer Meringoff Properties sold the building for $28.5 million ($39.8 million in 2024) to DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, who then spent an additional $15 million ($21 million in 2024) in renovations.[6][7] The building was later purchased by Ocean West Capital Partners for $70 million and in March 2023, Elat Properties purchased it for $28 million ($28.9 million in 2024).[8]

See also

References

Media related to Taft Building at Wikimedia Commons