Capitol Records Building
Encyclopedia
The Capitol Records Building, also known as the Capitol Records Tower, Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District
, located in Hollywood, Los Angeles is a thirteen story tower designed by Welton Becket
– and one of the city's landmark
s. Construction was contracted by British company EMI
soon after its 1955 acquisition of Capitol Records, with completion in April 1956. Located just north of the intersection of Hollywood and Vine
and consolidating the West Coast operations of Capitol Records
, the structure is home to the recording studios and echo chambers of Capitol Studios
— and is on the List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles.
The wide curved awnings over windows on each story and the tall spike emerging from the top of the building coincidentally resembling a stack of records
on a turntable
. The rectangular ground floor is a separate structure, joined to the tower after completion. The tower to include 13 stories, to conform to the 150 feet (45.7 m) zoning height limit. Earthquake height restrictions were later lifted in 1964. The 13th floor of the tower is the "Executive Level" and is represented by an "E" in the building's two elevators.
The blinking light atop the tower spells out the word "Hollywood" in Morse code, and has done so since the building's opening in 1956. This was an idea of Capitol's then president, Alan Livingston, who wanted to subtly advertise Capitol's status as the first record label with a base on the west coast. The switch was initially activated by Leila Morse, the granddaughter of Samuel Morse. In 1992 it was changed to read "Capitol 50" in honor of the label's fiftieth anniversary. It has since returned to spelling "Hollywood". A black and white graphic image of the building appeared on the albums of many Capitol recording artists, with the phrase, "From the Sound Capitol of the World".
. It would also be known as "The House That Nat Built" due to the vast amounts of records and merchandise Nat "King" Cole sold for the company. The first album recorded in the tower was Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color
.
announced that it had sold the tower and adjacent properties for $50 million to New York-based developer Argent Ventures
. The studio currently claims that it is threatened by noise from construction of a condominium
and underground parking lot by building firm Second Street Ventures that would have heavy equipment working within 18 feet (5.5 m) of its renowned underground echo chambers, which are themselves over 20 feet (6.1 m) below ground level. According to the CBS Evening News
of July 31, 2008, the developers deny this, and Second Street Venture's co-owner David Jordon says they have arranged construction work outside the hours of Capitol's recording schedules, and that they have also arranged for soundproof materials to be placed between the underground parking lot and Capitol's underground echo chambers. A senior record producer in the recording industry, Al Schmitt
, says it would be "heartbreaking" if it came to pass that the company could no longer use the echo chambers, which he says are, "the best in the business."
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
, located in Hollywood, Los Angeles is a thirteen story tower designed by Welton Becket
Welton Becket
Welton Becket was an architect who designed many buildings in Los Angeles, California.Becket was born in Seattle, Washington and graduated from the University of Washington program in Architecture in 1927 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree .He settled in Los Angeles in 1933 and formed a...
– and one of the city's landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
s. Construction was contracted by British company EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
soon after its 1955 acquisition of Capitol Records, with completion in April 1956. Located just north of the intersection of Hollywood and Vine
Hollywood and Vine
Hollywood and Vine, the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, became famous in the 1920s for its concentration of radio and movie-related businesses. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is centered on the intersection.Today, not many production...
and consolidating the West Coast operations of Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, the structure is home to the recording studios and echo chambers of Capitol Studios
Capitol Studios
The Capitol Studios complex opened in the Capitol Records Building, a futuristic new building in the heart of Hollywood, in 1956. It has since hosted some of the most treasured recordings in music history, from Frank Sinatra to the Beastie Boys. It is owned by Capitol Records whose parent company...
— and is on the List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles.
Design
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
on a turntable
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
. The rectangular ground floor is a separate structure, joined to the tower after completion. The tower to include 13 stories, to conform to the 150 feet (45.7 m) zoning height limit. Earthquake height restrictions were later lifted in 1964. The 13th floor of the tower is the "Executive Level" and is represented by an "E" in the building's two elevators.
The blinking light atop the tower spells out the word "Hollywood" in Morse code, and has done so since the building's opening in 1956. This was an idea of Capitol's then president, Alan Livingston, who wanted to subtly advertise Capitol's status as the first record label with a base on the west coast. The switch was initially activated by Leila Morse, the granddaughter of Samuel Morse. In 1992 it was changed to read "Capitol 50" in honor of the label's fiftieth anniversary. It has since returned to spelling "Hollywood". A black and white graphic image of the building appeared on the albums of many Capitol recording artists, with the phrase, "From the Sound Capitol of the World".
Capitol Studios
The building houses the Capitol Studios, a recording facility which includes an echo chamber engineered by guitarist Les PaulLes Paul
Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...
. It would also be known as "The House That Nat Built" due to the vast amounts of records and merchandise Nat "King" Cole sold for the company. The first album recorded in the tower was Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color
Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color
Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color is a 1956 album of tone poems composed by eight notable mid-20th century Hollywood arrangers, with each composition inspired by the poetry of Norman Sickel....
.
In films
- In the 1974 film EarthquakeEarthquake (film)Earthquake is a 1974 American disaster film that achieved huge box-office success, continuing the disaster film genre of the 1970s where recognizable all-star casts attempt to survive life or death situations...
, the big quake hit Los Angeles and after another one, the building is destroyed. - In the 2004 film The Day After TomorrowThe Day After TomorrowThe Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science-fiction disaster film that depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling which leads to a new ice age. The film did well at the box office, grossing $542,771,772 internationally...
, tornadoesTornadoA tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
destroyed the building and the rest of the city when tornadoes hit Los Angeles.
Current disposition
In September 2006, owner EMIEMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
announced that it had sold the tower and adjacent properties for $50 million to New York-based developer Argent Ventures
Argent Ventures
Argent Ventures is a privately held real estate company based in New York City that owns the land under Grand Central Terminal and the land around 156 miles of Metro-North Railroad railway tracks in the New York City metropolitan area....
. The studio currently claims that it is threatened by noise from construction of a condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
and underground parking lot by building firm Second Street Ventures that would have heavy equipment working within 18 feet (5.5 m) of its renowned underground echo chambers, which are themselves over 20 feet (6.1 m) below ground level. According to the CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963....
of July 31, 2008, the developers deny this, and Second Street Venture's co-owner David Jordon says they have arranged construction work outside the hours of Capitol's recording schedules, and that they have also arranged for soundproof materials to be placed between the underground parking lot and Capitol's underground echo chambers. A senior record producer in the recording industry, Al Schmitt
Al Schmitt
Al Schmitt is a recording engineer and record producer.-Early career:Schmitt grew up in New York City. After serving in the U.S. Navy he began working at Apex Recording Studios at the age of 19. In the late 1950's Schmitt moved to Los Angeles and became a staff engineer at Radio Recorders on Santa...
, says it would be "heartbreaking" if it came to pass that the company could no longer use the echo chambers, which he says are, "the best in the business."