So I snapped this shot when I was Downtown....8th and Olive St. It looked like a nice sign and the entrance was boarded up so I assumed this building was getting torn down or gutted. And I think I was pretty much right, at least according to this article in the LA Times.
Link
"As another indication of downtown's dramatic makeover, restaurateur Adolfo Sauya and designer-du-jour Dodd Mitchell, the duo behind the ultra-fashionable Zen Grill & Sake Lounge in Westwood, will be giving a serious upgrade to the Bristol Hotel, a 1927 Art Nouveau landmark at 8th and Olive streets. Sauya says the renewed establishment will consist of a hotel with between 80 and 100 rooms, an Asian-themed restaurant, a bar and a nightclub. He expects it to open in mid-2005"taken from the above article
Though it was mid 2006 when I took this picture, so maybe there's another Hotel Bristol somewhere downtown? Or maybe it's just taking longer to open. Anyways, I haven't been back to see if the sign's still there or if they're making a new sign. Either way I'm glad I could get a picture of this sign before it went away.
There's a larger picture of this building on this website
Link
A really nice shot of the building and the sign. I'm not quite sure when the picture was taken, but I guess that hotel was available for filming at some point. I don't remember that sign being there when I shot my picture.
Pretty cool.
G
