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The Wilshire Grand Hotel Is Officially On Its Way Down
Photo by LA Wad via the LAist Featured Photos pool
Ladies and gentlemen, the Wilshire Grand is officially coming down. Today demolition got underway at the longstanding hotel that is being torn down to make way for a massive new development.On hand today to slice a ceremonial beam out of the hotel were Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilmember José Huizar, Councilmember Jan Perry and other project officials.
The hotel first opened in 1952 as the Hotel Statler, and had been at the time of its planning, the recipient of the largest single building permit the city had ever issued, at $15 million. After the last guest checked out, the Wilshire Grand Hotel held a massive sale to clear out all of the property's furniture, appliances, dishes, linens and more.
In its place, a new hotel will go up, alongside an office building. The project, developed by Korean Air, is being touted as "like nothing that this city has ever seen," by Christopher Martin, president of Martin Project Management and CEO of AC Martin, the architecture firm that designed the building.
One unique feature of the new hotel will be the lobby located way up on the 70th floor.
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It's going to be some time, though, before you'll be able to take that long elevator ride up to check in and check out the project. Demolition is expected to take a year, and construction years after; the new project is expected to open in 2017.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
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