Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

The GoGo's played the Roosevelt Hotel

• October 21, 1978

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

7000 Hollywood Boulevard

Hollywood, Calif

• Go-Go's at the Roosevelt Hotel
  
• Historic Roosevelt
  
• 1st Academy Awards
  
• The Blossom Room

On October 31, 1978 the Go-Go's played at the Blossom Room inside Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

1934:USC  photo archives

Also performing that night were the Germs, the Hal Negro and the Satin Tones, and the Mau Maus.

It was billed as the Halloween Holocaust Ball. Of course, the Germs trashed the place and were banned from playing there again. 

Historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel was built in 1927 at the southwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Sycamore Ave. It was developed by real estate mogul Charles Toberman with investors from the elite movie industry including Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Luis B. Mayer. (Other Toberman property included the Chinese Theater, the El Capitan and Egyptian Theater).

 The hotel was named in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt.  It is located across from the Grauman's Chinese Theater  - and it quickly became a gathering place for Hollywood luminaries. 

Grauman's Chinese Theater

2008 photo: tlc

 The elegant 12-story Spanish style hotel had 302 rooms and suites. Stepping into the lobby is reminiscent of Hollywood's glamorous past with its Spanish tile floors and beautiful painted wood beam ceiling. Many stars lived here at some point in there careers including Douglas Fairbanks,  Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Cliff and Clark Gable. 

The Roosevelt Hotel housed the Blossom Room and the Cinegrill. The Blossom Room was a dining and dancing room. The Cinegrill was a more intimate club that hosted the best in jazz and cabaret entertainment nearly  60 years. 

1st Academy Awards

The Hollywood Roosevelt held the meetings of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences from 1927 - 1935.  The Blossom Room banquet room was the site of  the 1st Academy

Awards in 1929. Attendance was 270 and tickets were $5.00. Wings won in the Best Picture category. 

1st Awards: May 16, 1929

Thursday, 8:00 p.m.

Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (banquet)

Hosts - Academy President Douglas Fairbanks,

William C. deMille

The Blossom Room - 1929

The Blossom Room

The Blossom Room is a large Spanish style banquet room located inside the Roosevelt Hotel. 

source: Los Angeles Times

source: Arkiva Tropika

For years it was a favorite place to host Hollywood luncheons and events- and dance.

The Blossom Room - 1939

source: Hollywood photographic collection

In the 1930's radio shows broad casted from the Blossom Room while dance bands playing live shows over the airwaves. 

 

Dance lessons  in the Blossom Room

1952 photo: Los Angeles Herald Examiner

Dancing Lessons

1952 photo: Los Angeles Herald Examiner

In the 1950's and 60's the Blossom Room was used for the TV show This is Your Life - a popular TV  show that ran for 12 years hosted by Ralph Edwards.  The week's surprise guest was always treated to a gala reception at the Blossom Room. 

Queen For a Day

Winners from the hit 1950's TV show Queen for a Day also received a reception at the Roosevelt. Host was Jack Bailey. 

In the late 1960's and early 1970's the shine of the once glamorous Roosevelt Hotel and the Blossom Room started to fade - as did the neighborhood. The Blossom Room was often rented out for group seminars, training classes, auctions etc. 

In the 1970's the Hollywood Roosevelt struggled.  Occupancy declined as the neighborhood became blighted.  Area developers shunned Hollywood because of its deterioration. 

By the mid 1970's the Blossom Room decor had become shabby and tacky. False ceiling covered the original ceilings and worn rugs covered the dance floor. 

 May 1977 -  the Cycle Sluts'77 came to town - and they stayed 6 months at the Roosevelt Hotel.

 

source: Los Angeles Times

 

Cycle Sluts was a modern cabaret style rock show presented inside the Blossom Room. The show was a performed by a troop of  trashy and sassy street glamour types complete with beards and glitter faces.   There were biker beauty pageant skits, choreography and live band. 

On the skids, the Hollywood Roosevelt was sold in March of 1978.  The new owners promised to restore the former glamorous hotel - but it never happened as financial investors and developers shunned Hollywood because of the neighborhood's deterioration.  For the next 6 years the hotel and most of Hollywood fell further into disrepair. 

It's walls were covered with graffiti.  Its once elegant lobby with tiled fountain and floors was furnished with card table and lawn chairs.  Occupancy was low - cheep rooms were often rented to transients.

It was obvious that Hollywood had hit rock bottom. As the movie industry left town, so did banks, upscale stores and restaurants. There was suddenly  a plethora of porn shops, pimps, prostitutes, street bandits and  violence. 

Mayor Bradley promises promises to tackle the problem. He appointed a special task force called the Metro Squad. The Metro Squad consisted of 180 men was committed to Hollywood in mid 1977 as an assault on vice and street crime. 

photo source: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Archive

In 1984 the hotel was sold again. A giant public liquidation sale was held to empty the hotel of all its old furnishings and equipment such as well worn restaurant booths, thin terry cloth towels, white diner ware.  Everything, including the cash register, typewriters, pictures of movie stars, ice makers, TVs mattresses bedding event the kitchen sink must go. 

Hollywood Roosevelt Liquidation Sale - 1984

1984 photo: Lisa Hatalsky for The Herald Examiner

The Blossom Room today - entrance

2008 photo: tlc

View of the Blossom Room from upper mezzanine

2008 photo: tlc

2008 photo: tlc

2008 photo: tlc

View looking south towards Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

from Yamashiro's restaurant

2008 photo: tlc

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