Sponsored message
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

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.

News

Wilshire Grand, Destined for Demolition, Holding "largest garage sale Los Angeles has ever seen"

hotel-statler-postcard.jpg
The Wilshire Grand, once the Hotel Statler, is being liquidated (Vintage postcard)

Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.

The Wilshire Grand Hotel closed its doors for good at the end of December, but before the walls come tumbling down to make way for a swanky high rise, all of the facility's furnishings are up for grabs.In what a liquidation representative is calling "the largest garage sale Los Angeles has ever seen,” the Downtown hotel is getting rid of just about everything from the property, according to CBS2.

The Wilshire Grand 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.

What's left inside now is worth about $2 million. On Thursday, the doors will open to the public again for a massive liquidation sale, where everything from pianos to televisions, fitness equipment, commercial kitchen appliances, linens and more are going to be up for sale. Some of the stuff from the 900 rooms dates back to 1952.

"Every piece is priced at about 25 to 30 percent off retail. But no haggling will be allowed, just buyers interested in a grand opportunity," notes CBS2.

The sale gets underway Thursday morning at 9, and will run until there's nothing left.

In the Wilshire Grand's place will be a 45-story hotel slated to open in 2015.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible year-end gift today

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right