| Capitol Records Building | |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Capitol Records Tower Capitol Tower |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Location | 1750 Vine Street Los Angeles CA 90028 United States |
| Coordinates | |
| Construction started | 1955 |
| Completed | 1956 |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 46 m (151 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 13 |
| Elevator count | 2 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Welton Becket and Associates |
| Designated: | November 15, 2006 |
| Reference #: | 857 |
| References | |
| [1][2][3] | |
The Capitol Records Building, also known as the Capitol Records Tower, Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District, located in Hollywood, Los Angeles is a thirteen story tower designed by Welton Becket – and one of the city's landmarks. Construction was contracted by British company EMI soon after its 1955 acquisition of Capitol Records, with completion in April 1956. Located just north of the intersection of Hollywood and Vine and consolidating the West Coast operations of Capitol Records, the structure is home to the recording studios and echo chambers of Capitol Studios — and is on the List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles.
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The wide curved awnings over windows on each story and the tall spike emerging from the top of the building coincidentally[4] resembling a stack of records on a turntable. The rectangular ground floor is a separate structure, joined to the tower after completion. The tower incorporates 13 stories, to conform to the 150-foot (46 m) zoning height limit. Earthquake height restrictions were later lifted in 1964. The 13th floor of the tower is the "Executive Level" and is represented by an "E" in the building's two elevators.
The blinking light atop the tower spells out the word "Hollywood" in Morse code, and has done so since the building's opening in 1956. This was an idea of Capitol's then president, Alan Livingston, who wanted to subtly advertise Capitol's status as the first record label with a base on the west coast. The switch was initially activated by Leila Morse, the granddaughter of Samuel Morse.[4] In 1992 it was changed to read "Capitol 50" in honor of the label's fiftieth anniversary. It has since returned to spelling "Hollywood". A black and white graphic image of the building appeared on the albums of many Capitol recording artists, with the phrase, "From the Sound Capitol of the World".
The building houses the Capitol Studios, a recording facility which includes an echo chamber engineered by guitarist Les Paul. It would also be known as "The House That Nat Built" due to the vast amounts of records and merchandise Nat "King" Cole sold for the company. The first album recorded in the tower was Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color.
In September 2006, owner EMI announced that it had sold the tower and adjacent properties for $50 million to New York-based developer Argent Ventures. The studio currently claims that it is threatened by noise from construction of a condominium and underground parking lot by building firm Second Street Ventures that would have heavy equipment working within 18 feet (5.5 m) of its renowned underground echo chambers, which are themselves over 20 feet (6.1 m) below ground level.[5] According to the CBS Evening News of July 31, 2008, the developers deny this, and Second Street Venture's co-owner David Jordon says they have arranged construction work outside the hours of Capitol's recording schedules, and that they have also arranged for soundproof materials to be placed between the underground parking lot and Capitol's underground echo chambers. A senior record producer in the recording industry, Al Schmitt, says it would be "heartbreaking" if it came to pass that the company could no longer use the echo chambers, which he says are, "the best in the business."
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