The Hollywood Hotel

“This is Louella Parsons,” the famous gossip columnist said, “reporting from the Hollywood Hotel,” a signature statement of hers frequently heard throughout the 1930s. As the first landmark hotel built in Tinseltown, the Hollywood Hotel stood at this site from 1902 to 1956. The building opened with gold stars painted on the ceiling of the dining room to honor its celebrity guests—one of whom, Rudolph Valentino, was refused a room on his honeymoon night until he could produce a marriage license. Ovation Hollywood and the world-famous Dolby Theatre opened on this site in 2001, the latter of which has been the home of the Academy Awards since 2002.