The Taft Building

When the Taft Building was completed in 1923, it was the first high-rise office building in Los Angeles. The twelve-story building on the corners of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street was home to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1935 to 1946. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, such stars as Charlie Chaplin and Will Rogers had offices in the Taft Building, as did well-known agents, lawyers, and publicists. This staple building underwent a major renovation in 2015, restoring several of the original features that made it a landmark. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.

Located on the corner of the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, the Taft Building was built in 1923 in the Renaissance Revival style, and it was the first high-rise building to grace the skyline of Los Angeles. A.Z. Taft, Jr. purchased the lot where the Hollywood Memorial Church was located for $125,000, had the church torn down, and commissioned the Taft Building to be built. Architects Albert R. Walker & Percy A. Eisen were hired to create a majestic building to showcase the prominence of the Taft family and their stature in the community. 

In addition to the Taft Building, Walker and Eisen also designed a few other prominent buildings in the area, including the Fine Arts Building, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, and the James Oviatt Building. When the building opened in 1924, the Los Angeles Times reported that the first three floors were intended to hold offices for doctors and dentists. In its entirety, the concrete and brick structure held more than 250 office spaces and 10 stores. Immediately following its construction, more commercial development in the surrounding area followed, like The Broadway, a large department store, and the Hollywood Equitable Building. 

In the early years of the Taft Building, famous names such as Will Rogers and Charlie Chaplin opted to move their offices into the high-rise. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was headquartered here from 1935 to 1946, as was the Hollywood Reporter. During the years the Academy was housed at the Taft Building, presidents included the likes of director Frank Capra and actress Bette Davis. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, each of the major studios had offices in the building, which was a few steps away from the famous Brown Derby restaurant. Rumor has it that Clark Gable and Jack Warner would spend their lunch breaks playing craps in the basement of the building in the 1940s. 

In the 1980s, the Taft Building underwent a critical renovation that added window-unit air conditioners, new wall coverings, flooring, and dropped ceilings. However necessary these changes were, they concealed the ornate original features that made the building so unique. In 2011, the building was sold to DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners for $28.5 million, and starting in 2014, a major two-year renovation and restoration project started. In addition to structural and seismic improvements, the entrance and corridors were updated, and new office spaces were added. 

Although there were several updates made during the $15 million project, the historic neo-Renaissance architecture was maintained, and the overall character of the Taft Building was reinvigorated. Brick walls and windows that had been covered up for years were revealed, and luminous decorative marble and terra cotta features were again restored. In 2023, Ocean West Capital Partners sold the 126,000-square-foot building to Elan Properties for $28 million. This historic building located at one of Hollywood’s most famous intersections continues to serve as a space for entertainment offices and restaurants. The Taft Building was named a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1999, and it is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

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