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.
Downtown L.A.'s elegant Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles celebrates its 90th anniversary today. The hotel opened on October 1, 1923 as the largest hotel west of Chicago.
It's hosted its share of galas, awards (including the Oscars), presidential campaigns and rock stars.
Countless movies have filmed here, including Ghostbusters,The Dark Knight Rises and Iron Man. It hosts, on average, one film or TV shoot per week, the hotel's p.r. firm, Laura David Public Relations, said via email. Recent TV series shoots include Mad Men, The Newsroom, Scandal and Glee.
A few notable events in the hotel's storied history:
1927: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences was founded at a banquet in the Crystal Ballroom and rumor has it the Oscar statue was sketched here on a Biltmore napkin
1931: The 3rd Academy Awards were hosted in the Sala d'Oro Ballroom
1947: Actress Elizabeth Short, dubbed the "Black Dahlia," was last seen alive in the Biltmore's lobby. Her brutal murder remains one of L.A.'s greatest unsolved mysteries.
1960: The hotel welcomed Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy
1964: The Beatles, during their first world tour, were secretly helicoptered to the Biltmore's rooftop as mobs of fans on the streets below prevented them from reaching their accommodations in the Presidential Suite
The hotel is located at 506 S. Grand Ave.
Related:
Dahlia Noir: L.A'.s Most Notorious Murder
A good drink: the Black Dahlia
Downtown L.A. Art Deco Tour
Wish You Were Here: Vintage Postcards of Hotel Pools
Wish You Were Here: Vintage Postcards From An L.A. We Can Still Visit
