Yucca Vine Tower

Last updated
Yucca Vine Tower
Yucca Vine Tower
General information
Architectural style Art Deco
Location1801-1805 N Vine Street and 6301-6317 W Yucca Street, Hollywood, California
Coordinates 34°06′14″N118°19′37″W / 34.104°N 118.327°W / 34.104; -118.327
GroundbreakingOctober 1928
Completed1929
Design and construction
Architect(s) Henry L. Gogerty
DesignatedMay 31, 2024
Reference no.1302

Yucca Vine Tower, formerly Mountain States Building, Mountain States Life Insurance Building, and Postal Union Life Building, is a historic eight-story office building located at 1801-1805 N Vine Street and 6301-6317 W Yucca Street in Hollywood, California. It was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #1032 in 2024. [1]

Contents

History

Yucca Vine Tower was built in the Art Deco style by Henry L. Gogerty, the architect also responsible for the nearby Palace Theatre, Baine Building, and Hollywood Studio Building. Built in 1929, the building has been called Hollywood's first skyscraper, [2] although Christie Hotel, built five years prior, has also been given that distinction. [3] The cost of construction was $250,000. [4]

Upon opening, the building served as headquarters for the Mountain States Life Insurance Company. Other businesses and insurance companies, including the Postal Union Life Insurance Company, also occupied the building over the years, and from the 1970s to the 2000s, the ground floor was home to one of the first Thai restaurants in the United States. [2]

In 2006, the building was bought by the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, who spent more than $1 million restoring its façade. The interior, which had been significantly altered over the years, was also converted to meet the academy's needs. [2]

The building was declared Los Angeles Cultural-Historic Monument #1032 in 2024. The building's exterior and original interior were included in the designation, however, interior alternations from after the building was completed were not included. [1] The Art Deco Society of Los Angeles spearheaded the effort to designate the building. [2]

Architecture and design

Yucca Vine Tower is rectangular in plan and features an eight-story concrete tower flanked by two-story wood-frame, concrete and brick wings. [4]

The building features an Art Deco design and is considered an excellent example of a commercial art deco construction. Aspects of the style in the building include vertical emphasis and setbacks, zigzag elements, bas-relief sculptures, steel windows, symmetrical and repeating patterns, hexagon-shaped spandrel, cast stone ornamentation, coffered ceilings, marble clad walls, elevator lobbies on each floor, and interior arched openings. Integrity of the building is high, despite interior and exterior alterations. [4] [5]

Filming location

The building was featured in Mission: Impossible , Mannix , CHiPs , The Day After Tomorrow , and the Three Stooges short Three Little Pigskins . [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood, Los Angeles</span> Neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, US

Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a neighborhood and district in the central region of Los Angeles County, California, mostly within the city of Los Angeles. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures, are located in or near Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood and Vine</span> Street intersection in Los Angeles

Hollywood and Vine, the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, California, became known in the 1920s for its concentration of radio and movie-related businesses. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is centered on the intersection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood Palladium</span> Theater in Los Angeles, California

The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an 11,200-square-foot (1,040 m2) dance floor including a mezzanine and a floor level with room for up to 4,000 people. The theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. The Palladium was designated Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 1130 on September 28, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streamline Moderne</span> Late type of the Art Deco architecture and design

Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design, it was used in railroad locomotives, telephones, toasters, buses, appliances, and other devices to give the impression of sleekness and modernity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theatre</span> Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument

The Pellissier Building and adjoining Wiltern Theatre is a 12-story, 155-foot (47 m) Art Deco landmark at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center. Clad in a blue-green glazed architectural terra-cotta tile and situated diagonal to the street corner, the complex is considered one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the United States. The Wiltern building is owned privately, and the Wiltern Theatre is operated by Live Nation's Los Angeles division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Columbia Building</span> Building in Los Angeles, California

The Eastern Columbia Building, also known as the Eastern Columbia Lofts, is a thirteen-story Art Deco building designed by Claud Beelman located at 849 S. Broadway in the Broadway Theater District of Downtown Los Angeles. It opened on September 12, 1930, after just nine months of construction. It was built at a cost of $1.25 million as the new headquarters and 39th store for the Eastern-Columbia Department Store, whose component Eastern and Columbia stores were founded by Adolph Sieroty and family. At the time of construction, the City of Los Angeles enforced a height limit of 150 feet (46 m), however the decorative clock tower was granted an exemption, allowing the clock a total height of 264 feet (80 m). J. V. McNeil Company was the general contractor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood Pantages Theatre</span> Theater and movie theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

The Hollywood Pantages Theatre, formerly known as RKO Pantages Theatre and Fox-Pantages Theatre, also known as The Pantages, is a live theater and former movie theater located at 6233 Hollywood Boulevard, near Hollywood and Vine, in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca, the theater was the last built by the vaudeville impresario Alexander Pantages and also the last movie palace built in Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park Plaza Hotel (Los Angeles)</span> Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument

The Elks Lodge No. 99 / Park Plaza Hotel, now The MacArthur, is located at 607 Park View Street across from MacArthur Park in the Westlake district of Los Angeles, California. Completed in 1926, it was designed by architect Claud Beelman, later to become renowned an Art Deco designer, when he was practicing as Curlett + Beelman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Oviatt Building</span> United States historic place

The James Oviatt Building, commonly referred to as The Oviatt Building, is an Art Deco highrise in Downtown Los Angeles located on Olive Street, half a block south of 6th St. and Pershing Square. In 1983, the Oviatt Building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is also designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunset Tower</span> United States historic place

The Sunset Tower Hotel, previously known as The St. James's Club and The Argyle, is a historic building and hotel located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. Designed in 1929 by architect Leland A. Bryant, opened in 1931, it is considered one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the Los Angeles area. In its early years, it was the residence of many Hollywood celebrities, including John Wayne and Howard Hughes. After a period of decline in the early 1980s, the building was renovated and has been operated as a luxury hotel under the names The St. James's Club, The Argyle, and most recently the Sunset Tower Hotel. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walker & Eisen</span>

Walker & Eisen (1919−1941) was an architectural partnership of architects Albert R. Walker and Percy A. Eisen in Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taft Building (Los Angeles)</span> Building in Los Angeles, California, U.S.

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

Henry L. Gogerty (1894–1990) was an American architect. He is best known for designing over 350 schools and industrial buildings in Southern California, as well as designing or co-designing five historic buildings in Hollywood, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway Hollywood Building</span> United States historic place

The Broadway Hollywood Building is a building in Los Angeles' Hollywood district. The building is situated in the Hollywood Walk of Fame monument area on the southwest corner of the intersection referred to as Hollywood and Vine, marking the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. It was originally built as the B. H. Dyas Building in 1927. The Broadway Hollywood Building is referred to by both its main address of 6300 Hollywood Boulevard and its side address of 1645 Vine Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood Plaza Hotel</span> Hotel located in Hollywood, California

Hollywood Plaza Hotel, also known as Plaza Hotel, was a 200-room hotel located at 1633–37 North Vine Street in Hollywood, California, just south of Hollywood and Vine. A popular venue for film, radio, and theatre stars of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, the building was converted into a retirement home in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Deco in the United States</span> Architectural style popular in the 1920s-1930s

The Art Deco style, which originated in France just before World War I, had an important impact on architecture and design in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. The most notable examples are the skyscrapers of New York City, including the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and Rockefeller Center. It combined modern aesthetics, fine craftsmanship, and expensive materials, and became the symbol of luxury and modernity. While rarely used in residences, it was frequently used for office buildings, government buildings, train stations, movie theaters, diners and department stores. It also was frequently used in furniture, and in the design of automobiles, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as toasters and radio sets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District</span> Historic district in Los Angeles, California

The Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District is a historic district that consists of twelve blocks between the 6200 and 7000 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. This strip of commercial and retail businesses, which includes more than 100 buildings, is recognized for its significance with the entertainment industry, particularly Hollywood and its golden age, and it also features the predominant architecture styles of the 1920s and 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equitable Building of Hollywood</span> Historic office building in Los Angeles, California

Equitable Building of Hollywood, also known as the Bank of Hollywood Building and The Lofts at Hollywood and Vine, is a historic twelve-story former office building, now condominium located at 6253 W. Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, California, at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christie Hotel</span> Building in Los Angeles, California, U.S.

The Christie Hotel is a historic eight-story building at 6724 W. Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, California. Considered Hollywood's first skyscraper and also its first luxury hotel, the building features Georgian Revival architecture and has been described as "an excellent example of its style" by the United States Department of the Interior.

References

  1. 1 2 "Historical Cultural Monuments List" (PDF). City of Los Angeles . Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Edwin Folven (May 22, 2024). "Historic status eyed for Hollywood's first skyscraper". Beverly Press.
  3. "Current Projects: Christie Hotel". NOVA Hotel Renovation & Construction. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Mountain States Life Building/ Yucca-Vine Tower Recommendation Report" (PDF). City of Los Angeles . Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  5. "Mountain States Life Building/ Yucca-Vine Tower Findings" (PDF). City of Los Angeles . Retrieved August 31, 2024.