Culver Hotel
Encyclopedia
Culver Hotel is a historical landmark situated in downtown Culver City, California
. It was built on the site of Culver City's first movie theater
on September 4, 1924, with local headlines announcing: "City packed with visitors for opening of Culver skyscraper
." Originally named Hotel Hunt, and later known as Culver City Hotel, the six-story building contained the offices of Harry Culver
, the founder of Culver City. It was designed by Los Angeles architect Claud Beelman
.
The Culver Hotel has appeared in countless films and television programs throughout its history, including Little Rascals, the Laurel and Hardy
series, The Wonder Years
, Party of Five
, 7th Heaven
, Last Action Hero
, and Stuart Little 2
.
The Culver Hotel has a restaurant
, conference room, and bar
.
Legend has it that Charlie Chaplin sold the hotel to John Wayne for a dollar during a poker game.
The Culver Hotel was owned by John Wayne
for several years before he donated it to the YMCA
. He did so after having been approached by the Black Panthers who wanted to purchase the hotel. They decided to move to San Francisco. There is a "John Wayne" presidential suite
in the hotel.
stayed here during filming of the movie in 1939. The hijinks of that period, including the hotel's being taken over by the "Munchkins", were featured in the 1981 movie Under the Rainbow.
The pie-slice-shaped hotel has housed many stars as part-time residents, including Clark Gable
, Mickey Rooney
, Greta Garbo
, Judy Garland
, Joan Crawford
, Lana Turner
, Red Skelton
, Buster Keaton
, Dorothy Dandridge
, Douglas Fairbanks
, Frank Sinatra
, and Ronald Reagan
.
The hotel was bought by Wei [Abraham] Hu in mid 1997 who has subsequently sold the hotel due to costly legal fees and a slump in business.
The nearby Jazz Bakery has been known to put up world renowned musicians at the Culver Hotel.
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
. It was built on the site of Culver City's first movie theater
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
on September 4, 1924, with local headlines announcing: "City packed with visitors for opening of Culver skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
." Originally named Hotel Hunt, and later known as Culver City Hotel, the six-story building contained the offices of Harry Culver
Harry Culver
Harry Hazel Culver was a real estate developer and promoter. He was born in Milford, Nebraska, the middle child of five of Jacob H. and Ada L. Culver, who lived on a farm. At age 18, he enlisted in the Spanish-American War and served as a corporal and sergeant, respectively...
, the founder of Culver City. It was designed by Los Angeles architect Claud Beelman
Claud Beelman
Claud W. Beelman , sometimes known as Claude Beelman, was an American architect who designed many examples of Beaux-Arts, Art Deco and Streamline Moderne style buildings. Many of his buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Beelman was married to Lourene Taft Beelman...
.
The Culver Hotel has appeared in countless films and television programs throughout its history, including Little Rascals, the Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
series, The Wonder Years
The Wonder Years
The Wonder Years is an American television comedy-drama created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens. It ran for six seasons on ABC from 1988 through 1993. The pilot aired on January 31, 1988 after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII....
, Party of Five
Party of Five
Party of Five is an American teen drama television series that aired on Fox for six seasons, from September 12, 1994, until May 3, 2000.Critically acclaimed, the show suffered from low ratings and after its first season was slated for cancellation...
, 7th Heaven
7th Heaven
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
, Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero is a 1993 American action-comedy-fantasy film directed and produced by John McTiernan. It is a satire of the action genre and its clichés, containing several parodies of action films in the form of films within the film....
, and Stuart Little 2
Stuart Little 2
Stuart Little 2 is a 2002 American live action and CGI animated film, directed by Rob Minkoff and starring Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie and Jonathan Lipnicki and the voices of Michael J. Fox, Nathan Lane, Melanie Griffith, James Woods and Steve Zahn. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film and includes...
.
The Culver Hotel has a restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
, conference room, and bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
.
Owners
The hotel was originally jointly built by Charles Chaplin and Harry Culver, the founder of Culver City. Harry Culver's office was on the second floor in a room that, now, looks out to the Sony Plaza building.Legend has it that Charlie Chaplin sold the hotel to John Wayne for a dollar during a poker game.
The Culver Hotel was owned by John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
for several years before he donated it to the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
. He did so after having been approached by the Black Panthers who wanted to purchase the hotel. They decided to move to San Francisco. There is a "John Wayne" presidential suite
Presidential suite
Presidential suite and royal suite are common names for the most expensive suite in a luxury hotel.It gained its name during the Woodrow Wilson presidency because on each of his political trips away from Washington, he would insist on having a hotel room conform to specific requirements for his...
in the hotel.
Residents
Much of the cast of The Wizard of OzThe Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
stayed here during filming of the movie in 1939. The hijinks of that period, including the hotel's being taken over by the "Munchkins", were featured in the 1981 movie Under the Rainbow.
The pie-slice-shaped hotel has housed many stars as part-time residents, including Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
, Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, Lana Turner
Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
, Red Skelton
Red Skelton
Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...
, Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
, Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Jean Dandridge was an American actress and popular singer, and was the first African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress...
, Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro....
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
.
The hotel was bought by Wei [Abraham] Hu in mid 1997 who has subsequently sold the hotel due to costly legal fees and a slump in business.
The nearby Jazz Bakery has been known to put up world renowned musicians at the Culver Hotel.