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Security Trust and Savings

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Coordinates: 34°6′9″N 118°19′42″W / 34.10250°N 118.32833°W / 34.10250; -118.32833
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This article is about the building at 6381 Hollywood Blvd. For the similarly named building at 7051 Hollywood Blvd, see Security Trust.
Security Trust and Savings
Security Trust and Savings, 2008
Security Trust and Savings is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Security Trust and Savings
Location of building in Los Angeles County
Location6381–6385 W. Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, California
Coordinates34°6′9″N 118°19′42″W / 34.10250°N 118.32833°W / 34.10250; -118.32833
Built1921
ArchitectJohn and Donald Parkinson
Architectural styleItalian Renaissance revival
Part ofHollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District (ID85000704)
NRHP reference No.83001204
LAHCM No.334
Significant dates
Designated NRHPAugust 18, 1983
Designated CPApril 4, 1985
Designated LAHCMDecember 18, 1987

Security Trust and Savings, also known as Security Trust, Security Pacific Bank, Security Bank Building, and Cahuenga Building, is a historic seven-story office building on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It is notable for its architecture, its history with Hollywood, and its association with fictional detective Phillip Marlowe.

History

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Security Trust and Savings on Hollywood Boulevard in 1927

Security Trust and Savings was built in 1921 and upon opening was the tallest building in Hollywood.[1] It features Italian Renaissance revival architecture and was designed by John and Donald Parkinson,[2][3] who also designed some of the Los Angeles's most notable landmarks, including Union Station and the Memorial Coliseum.[4]

Originally the Hollywood branch of the six-location Security Trust and Savings Bank,[5] this location was considered "a power center of the entertainment industry", with clients that included Charlie Chaplin, the Three Stooges, Lana Turner, W.C. Fields, Cecil B. DeMille, Howard Hughes, and more.[3]

In 1982, the building was included in the National Register of Historic Places,[6] and in 1984, the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District was added to the register, with Security Trust listed as a contributing property in the district.[2][7] In 1987, the building was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #334.[8]

In 2008, Hollywood's Economic Development Committee received two proposals to convert the building into a hotel,[9] and in 2020, the building was bought for $53 million by Onni Group, who plan to preserve it while redeveloping an adjoining property.[10]

Architecture and design

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Security Trust and Savings is a steel reinforced masonry office building that features an Italian Renaissance Revival design. The building features vertical massing with a grey terra cotta exterior, additional terra cotta ornamentation, and a dark marble band that anchors the building to the street.[11]

The street level facade features slightly recessed and outsized windows between wide pilasters, and recessed entryways highlighted by fluted columns. The Cahuenga entrance also features an ornately decorated cornice with medallions and garlands supported by brackets, while the Hollywood Boulevard entrance was stripped of its cornice to accommodate a sign. An ornamental stringcourse separates the street level from the office floors above, with the office floors featuring pairs of slightly recessed vertically banded windows separated by thin twisted fluted columns and culminating decorative capitals and a double arch. Beneath each office window is a rectangular panel bordered with terra cotta cast in a classical motif.[11]

A flat roof with deep projecting eaves caps the structure. Cornice decorations, including sculpted lion heads and carved brackets featuring recessed floral medallions, punctuate the roof line. The "rope" effect of the twisted columns is maintained in this area by two horizontal bands, and the classical motif of the office window panels is repeated in a horizontal band below the brackets.[11]

The interior bank lobby features original marble floors and freestanding covered columns as well as restored banded marble walls and high ceilings. Much of the rest of the interior has been renovated and remodeled.[11]

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This building is widely believed to be the inspiration for the Cahuenga Building, a fictional building that housed the office of Philip Marlowe, the hardboiled detective featured in a number of Raymond Chandler's stories. Additionally, The Brasher Doubloon, a film adaption of Chandler's The High Window, features this building as that location.[12] The intersection outside this building is named Raymond Chandler Square as a tribute to the belief that Phillip Marlowe's office was located here.[4][13][14]

This building's exterior was a common filming location for and can be seen in many Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Charlie Chaplin films.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "John and James Adams Postcard Collection - Security Trust and Savings Bank, Hollywood, 1923". San Diego State University Digital Collections. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form - Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District". United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service. April 4, 1985.
  3. ^ a b "Security Trust and Savings - Hollywood Historic Site". Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Early Views of Hollywood (1920 +)". Water and Power Associates. p. 1. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  5. ^ "Security Trust and Savings Bank, Hollywood and Cahuenga Branch, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA". University of Washington Pacific Coast Architecture Database. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  6. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form - Security Savings and Trust". United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service. November 12, 2020.
  7. ^ "On the Boulevard". Hollywood Heritage. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  8. ^ "Historical Cultural Monuments List" (PDF). City of Los Angeles. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  9. ^ Smith, Dakota (October 23, 2008). "Hotel Proposed for Hollywood's Cahuenga Building". Curbed Los Angeles.
  10. ^ Sharp, Steven (June 23, 2020). "Onni Group Plans 14-Story Office Building at Hollywood and Cahuenga". Urbanize LA.
  11. ^ a b c d "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form - Security Trust and Savings" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service. July 20, 1983.
  12. ^ "Cahuenga Building". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  13. ^ Zollo, Paul (October 7, 1998). "Chandler Square". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ "Raymond Chandler Square - Hollywood Blvd at Cahuenga". Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
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