The STILE Downtown Los Angeles by Kasa, originally built as the California Petroleum Corporation Building and later known as the Texaco Building, is a 243 ft (74 m), 13-story highrise hotel and theater building located at 937 South Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, California. It was the tallest building in the city for one year after its completion in 1927, and was the tallest privately owned structure in Los Angeles until 1956. Its style is Spanish Gothic, patterned after Segovia Cathedral in Segovia, Spain.
| STILE Downtown Los Angeles by Kasa | |
|---|---|
 Exterior of the building (c. 2008) | |
| Former names | United Artists Theatre (1927–90) University Cathedral (1990–2011) |
| Hotel chain | Kasa |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type |
|
| Location | Downtown Los Angeles |
| Address | 929 S Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90015-1609 |
| Coordinates | 34°02′30″N 118°15′26″W / 34.0416°N 118.2571°W |
| Groundbreaking | March 5, 1927 |
| Opened | December 26, 1927 |
| Renovated | 2012–14 |
| Cost | $3 million ($52.6 million in 2023 dollars[1]) |
| Height | |
| Roof | 73.76 m (242.0 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 13 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | |
| Structural engineer | Scofield Engineering Construction |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect(s) |
|
| Structural engineer | Nabih Youssef Associates |
| Other designers |
|
| Main contractor |
|
| Other information | |
| Seating capacity | 1,600 (The Theatre at Ace Hotel) |
| Number of rooms | 182 |
| Number of restaurants | 1 |
| Number of bars | 3 |
| Facilities |
|
| Architectural style(s) | Spanish Gothic Revival |
| Governing body | Private |
| Official name | United Artists Theater Building |
| Designated | March 20, 1991[2] |
| Reference no. | 523 |
| References | |
| [3][4] | |
The building contains the historic United Artists Theatre, the flagship theater built for the United Artists motion picture studio. The theater was later used as a church by pastors Gene Scott and his widow Melissa Scott under the name "University Cathedral". In October 2011, Scott's Wescott Christian Center Inc. sold the building to Greenfield Partners, a real estate investment company located in Westport, Connecticut, for $11 million.[5] It was converted to a hotel, part of the Ace Hotels chain, the Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, which opened in 2014 and closed in 2024. It reopened soon after as STILE Downtown Los Angeles by Kasa.
United Artists Theatre period
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The theatre was designed by the architect C. Howard Crane of the firm Walker & Eisen for the United Artists film studio formed by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford.[6] The theater, a classic movie palace, was one of many constructed by United Artists and served as a major premier house. The theater occupies three floors of the 13-story building and has a 2,214-seat auditorium.[7] Like many movie theaters, the seat rows sink in toward the front of the orchestra section, so ticket holders there must look up at the stage.[8]
University Cathedral period
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The building was first leased by televangelist Gene Scott in 1989, to be used as the location from which to broadcast the live Sunday services of his ministry. Scott held his first Sunday service there in 1990 and continued to hold Sunday services there until his death in 2005. A designated historic monument in itself, the building was for many years topped by the historic "Jesus Saves" neon signs (originally from the Church of the Open Door). They were located in the rear lower roof, one facing the west and one north, until September 10, 2011, when one sign was removed by crane. The building was claimed to house the largest collection of Bibles in private hands. After leasing for thirteen years, Gene Scott purchased the building in 2002. Following Scott's death, services continued to be held at the Los Angeles University Cathedral by Melissa Scott, the widow of Gene Scott, with services broadcast over TV, shortwave radio, and the Internet.
Hotel conversion
editThe building was completely restored and renovated to serve as a luxury boutique hotel called Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles. It featured 182 rooms, a pool, a restaurant and three bars, as well as the restored theatre.[9] It opened on January 16, 2014. In December 2014, Greenfield Partners put the building up for sale, seeking about $100 million as the sale price.[10] In May 2015, Chesapeake Lodging Trust bought the building for $103 million.[11]
The theater was restored as well and re-opened on February 14, 2014 as the Theatre at the Ace Hotel, with concerts by the British rock band Spiritualized.[7] L.A. Dance Project, a dance company founded by choreographer Benjamin Millepied, also took residence in the theater.[7] Red Hot Chili Peppers performed a fundraiser at the Ace Hotel on February 5, 2016, in support of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.[12]
The hotel closed on January 31, 2024.[13] The building's owners announced plans to remodel it as a limited-service, rooms-only hotel, managed via a tech platform, without any food and beverage establishments.[14] The hotel reopened in February 2024, managed by Kasa Living, Inc.[15] as STILE Downtown Los Angeles by Kasa.[16]
The theater has been rebranded as The United Theater on Broadway.
Historic designation
editThis building is listed as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #523,[17] however it was not listed as a contributing property in the National Register of Historic Places's Broadway Theater and Commercial District.[18]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Department of City Planning. "Designated Historic-Cultural Monuments". City of Los Angeles. Archived from the original on June 9, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- ^ "Emporis building ID 147195". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Ace Hotel Los Angeles". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ Vincent, Roger (October 17, 2011). "Historic United Artists building sells for $11 million". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
- ^ Gebhard, David; Robert Winter (1985). Architecture in Los Angeles: A Compleat Guide. Salt Lake City: Gibbs M. Smith Books. p. 232. ISBN 978-0-87905-087-0.
- ^ a b c Mike Boehm (January 14, 2014), Millepied's L.A. Dance Project finds home: 1927 downtown theater Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Lewis Segal (February 21, 2014), Review: L.A. Dance Project's launch at Ace Hotel beautifully in sync Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Adrian Glick Kudler (May 25, 2012). "Work Starting at Downtown's Ace Hotel, Celebrating Skid Row". Curbed LA. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
- ^ Parker, Ryan (December 17, 2014). "Ace Hotel building in downtown L.A. is up for sale". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Vincent, Roger (May 1, 2015). "Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles sold for $103 million". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers Cover Bowie at Bernie Sanders Concert". rollingstone.com. February 6, 2016.
- ^ Kang, Matthew (December 13, 2023). "The Ace Hotel's Closure in Early 2024 Marks the End of an Era for Downtown LA". Eater LA. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
- ^ "The Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles is closing its doors in January". Los Angeles Times. December 13, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
- ^ "AJU CONTINUUM Selects Kasa to Operate Former Ace Hotel in Los Angeles".
- ^ "The Best Hotels In Los Angeles For Every Traveller In 2024".
- ^ "Historical Cultural Monuments List" (PDF). City of Los Angeles. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form - California SP Broadway Theater and Commercial District". United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service. May 9, 1979.
External links
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- STILE Downtown Los Angeles by Kasa official website
- The United Theater on Broadway official website
- Texaco Building — at You-Are-Here.com
- United Artists Building Exterior Archived 2010-03-05 at the Wayback Machine — at Public Art in Los Angeles