A major weekend fire destroyed a historic Hollywood hotel that had stood for over a century.
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According to local outlet KTLA, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a rubbish fire around 4:30 a.m. Sunday on the 6700 block of Sunset Boulevard. The blaze occurred at the Hollywood Center Motel, a landmark originally built in 1905.
“Firefighters arrived to find a boarded-up two-story Craftsman home/business with heavy fire showing from the first and second floors,” the LAFD explained in a press release. “The engine captain immediately upgraded to a structure fire and requested additional resources.”
As firefighters battled the flames, they heard calls for help from inside and continued “fighting in offensive mode but in a rescue profile,” officials said.
A 42-year-old man broke a window and climbed down to paramedics waiting below. He was hospitalized with a minor arm injury but avoided any burns. No other injuries were reported.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze in 1 hour and 12 minutes. A secondary search confirmed no one was inside. The structure was demolished shortly after the fire was out.
The LAFD’s Arson and Counterterrorism Section is investigating the cause of the fire.
The Loss of the Famous Hollywood Landmark Mourned by Historians
Meanwhile, the Hollywood Heritage Museum expressed sadness over the loss, noting the property was “one of the last remaining pre-consolidated Hollywood estates with frontage on a major thoroughfare,” according to KTLA. The fire happened only weeks after the Cultural Heritage Commission voted to consider the site as a potential landmark.
Commissioners had scheduled a tour of the property for this week. The museum stated that a previously scheduled Jan. 7 virtual program about the motel will proceed as planned. It will serve as “both a tribute to the intriguing compound and its layers of history [as well as] a discussion of concepts aimed at stopping the destruction of vulnerable historic buildings through neglect.”
“We lost a piece of Hollywood history that dated back to 1905,” officials added. “The fire broke out in the Queen Anne-style house, the centerpiece of the Hollywood Center Motel. LAFD exercised its right to demolish the buildings based on public safety issues. The Hollywood Center Motel’s 120-year story ends here.”
Built in 1905, the motel was a remnant of Hollywood’s early days, predating its merger with Los Angeles in 1910. The property featured a three-story shingle-style home, 1922 Colonial Revival bungalows, and mid-century elements like breeze block walls, vintage lettering, and a marquee sign from its time as a bustling motor hotel.