View shows the Capitol Records Building (left) and Knickerbocker Hotel (right). Capitol Records, located on Vine Street, is a unique 13-story, 150 ft high-rise cylindrical building that was built in 1956 by architect Welton David Becket and contractor C. L. Peck Co. The wide curved awnings over the windows of each floor and the tall spike emerging from the top of the building combine to give it the appearance of a stack of vinyl 45s on a turntable, although it was not originally designed with that idea in mind. The blinking red light on the tip of the rooftop spire spells out the word "Hollywood" in Morse code every few seconds, and has done so since the building's opening in April of 1956.The Hotel Knickerbocker, a Renaissance Revival/Beaux Arts building located on Ivar Avenue, began life as a luxury apartment building that was at the heart of Hollywood back in the 1920s, before becoming a hotel later in its history. It's been linked with tragic deaths and because of this, it is considered haunted by some. Some unfortunate occurrences: D.W. Griffith died of a stroke on July 21, 1948 under the crystal chandelier of the lobby; a costume designer named Irene jumped to her death from a hotel window; William Frawley, who lived at the hotel for decades, died of a heart attack on the sidewalk in front of the Knickerbocker. Other stars that frequented the hotel with better luck were: Rudolph Valentino, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio, Frank Sinatra, Lana Turner, Mae West, and Cecil B. DeMille among many, many others.
Capitol Records, Inc Knickerbocker Hotel (Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif.) Round buildings--California--Los Angeles Sound recording industry--California--Los Angeles Music trade--California--Los Angeles Hotels--California--Hollywood (Los Angeles) Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) Becket, Welton C.L. Peck Co
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