Designed by
S. Charles Lee and built by
Louis B. Mayer and
Irving Thalberg, the Hollywood & Western Building opened on December 8, 1928. The building was the first location of
Motion Picture Association of America, the
Hays Office, and The
Ben Hecht Company. On January 25, 1926,
Central Casting officially opened its office in the Hollywood & Western Building. Hollywood Billiards, Hollywood's oldest pool hall, was located in the lower basement. Over the years its tenants have also included Toppy's (a corner coffee shop), Newman Drug Co.,
Rexall, Bargain Saver, Hollywood Rehearsal Studios, Studio 9, Rock City Arcade, and Cosmopolitan Book Depository. By the 1970s, the building was being used to produce
pornography and was slowly converted into individual
recording studios and
music rehearsal spaces. It was also used as a rehearsal studio for such bands as
Guns N' Roses and
White Zombie. The building was heavily damaged in the
1994 Northridge earthquake, after which it was vacant for several years. Previous tenants included local offices for
U.S. Representative Adam Schiff. On July 6, 2021, ABS Properties, Inc. announced plans to convert the building into 79 income-restricted apartments, ==In popular culture==