Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

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Hotel Roosevelt

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is a historic Spanish style hotel located at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Named for Theodore Roosevelt and financed by a group including Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Mary Pickford and Louis B. Mayer, it first opened its doors on May 15, 1927.

The banquet and presentation of the 1st Academy Awards was held at the hotel, although it was moved in subsequent years. As of 2006, the hotel is still in operation.

A recent renovation has made the hotel and its Tropicana poolside bar a Hollywood hotspot, where the latest young stars go to party. The hotel's penthouse is the home of Johnny Grant, the Honorary Mayor of Hollywood, who can often be seen eating in the hotel's restaurant or walking through its lobby.

Marilyn Monroe was a resident at the Hollywood Roosevelt for two years when her modelling career took off. Her first magazine shoot was taken on the diving board on the pool which was recently removed. Monroe stayed in Cabana 246 which over looked the pool side. A mirror which once hung in her room is now in the lobby and is thought to be haunted by her spirit. The hotel's pool contains a mural painted by David Hockney.

[edit] The hotel in popular culture

The film Shade features a climactic poker game at the Roosevelt.
The hotel is the setting for the shoot for the first music video for the gay pop duo Nemesis and was featured in an episode of the reality television series Jacob and Joshua: Nemesis Rising.
The hotel was used as a setting for a number of episodes of HBO's Entourage television series.