One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Demolition On Sunset Strip's Iconic House Of Blues Has Begun
House of Blues Los Angeles in 2003 (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
It's been almost two years since the iconic House of Blues on the Sunset Strip last closed its doors. Originally opened in 1994 (with Dan Aykroyd as a partner), the West Coast expansion of the Cambridge, Massachusettes venue ran as a popular nightlife destination for 21 years before shuttering in August 2015.
On Thursday, demolition crews began tearing down the edifice to make way for construction of a hotel and condo property named Sunset Time, which is slated to open in December 2019.
“I think we’re going to try to do our best to hold onto everything,” Michael Grozier, an executive at LiveNation, which booked the venue since its opening, told West Hollywood Magazine of the venue's extensive Folk and Native American art holdings during a 2015 interview. “We may auction some things for charity. It’s kind of a bittersweet thing to think about. The plan is to relocate in Los Angeles. We’d love to stay in West Hollywood but there’s no space.”
House Of Blues' only remaining California venues are House of Blues Anaheim and House of Blues San Diego.
According to Urbanize LA, the Sunset Time project (one of three hotels currently under construction on the Sunset Strip) will bring 149 hotel rooms, 40 condominiums, and some 25,000 square feet of retail to the corner of Sunset Boulevard and North Olive Drive.
Sponsored message
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
