Architecture in West Hollywood, California
Architecture in West Hollywood
West Hollywood, California is a perfect place to experience a rich slice of California culture as it pertains to architecture and design. There are few places in the world where you will find such a concentration of wealth and talent in such a small area. Of course, anytime you bring together people with a talent for expressing their creativity and the financial means it takes to do it, you will find great architecture.
Naturally, West Hollywood is no exception to this particular rule. By virtue of Southern California’s magnificent weather and the well-heeled celebrities, authors and great minds who have called this area home for more than a hundred years, the architecture in West Hollywood is a rich tapestry of styles old and new. West Hollywood has a number of notable pieces of commercial architecture, but it is also well-known for the mid-century modern luxury homes, like the Collywood House, perched on the Hollywood Hills surrounding it.
West Hollywood Culture
West Hollywood or WeHo, sits just below the Hollywood Hills and adjacent to Beverly Hills. This Los Angeles suburb is perhaps best known for its buzzing nightlife and the nightclubs, bars and legendary live music venues, like the Whiskey A Go Go, that keep it humming. It’s home to the famous Sunset Strip and Chateau Marmont, an infamous luxury hotel and convenient, discrete hideaway for local celebrities and VIPs. West Hollywood’s Santa Monica Boulevard is one of the country’s hippest gay neighborhoods and LGBTQ+ friendly bars, nightclubs and retail establishments run up and down its lengths.
West Hollywood is also home to some of the best restaurants in the Los Angeles basin. They range from classic Italian joints favored by the Rat Pack, like Dan Tana’s to ultra-hip, new eateries like Saltie Girl. Whether you want music, great food or just to relax on a chaise lounge on the lanai by the pool with a pair of oversized sunglasses on, West Hollywood has what you’re looking for. This particular piece of Los Angeles has remained popular by being a symbol of both old and new Hollywood and living up to its hype, for the most part.
This page highlights some of our favorite examples of West Hollywood architecture.
Culture and Architecture in West Hollywood
1 Hotel West Hollywood
One prime example of new modern architecture in West Hollywood is the 1 Hotel West Hollywood. This high-tech, environmentally sustainable boutique hotel boasts 286 rooms. The beautiful complex consists of two towers and sits on the southeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and La Cienega. It was designed by an L.A. architecture firm that took great care to follow West Hollywood’s Green Building Program guidelines. This includes lush courtyard gardens stocked with native flora and the latest in energy-efficient biophilic design.
These modern hotel towers feature a prism-like shape with attention-getting severe angles from vantage points. An outdoor passage that connects Sunset Boulevard to a terraced amphitheater with dramatic views of the Los Angeles valley. Inside the lobby showcases a grand staircase that leads guests from the ground floor to the expansive lobby which makes superb use of abundant natural light. Concrete floors and ceilings are accented with walnut and bronze. Wood wall paneling and custom light fixtures and furniture designed and built expressly for this location complete the vision.
Chateau Marmont
A Los Angeles attorney, Fred Horowitz returned from a vacation in Europe in 1926 truly moved by the beauty of French architecture. He commissioned his brother-in-law, architect Arnold Weitzman to design a seven-story luxury apartment building based on the photos of French chateaus he took on his vacation. The final product became one of the most notable examples of classic West Hollywood architecture – the famous (or infamous) Chateau Marmont Hotel.
Inspired by the Château d’Amboise, a royal retreat poised in Central France’s Loire Valley where Leonardo Da Vinci is buried, it became a hotel after The Great Depression made renting luxury apartments a challenge, even in Hollywood. This regal old hotel is tucked discreetly into the palms studding a hillside on West Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard. The very placement of Chateau Marmont hints at its hideaway nature.
Sunset Tower
Sunset Tower was one of the very first high-rise apartment buildings in Los Angeles. Today it is a classic reminder of pre-war Hollywood culture and style and one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in all of Los Angeles. Referred to as “Hollywood’s Grand Dame Hotel” by the New York Times, this historic West Hollywood hotel was built in 1930, long before modern earthquake codes were on the books. The fact that it still stands intact today is a testament to the sound design and sturdy construction.
Standing 15 stories tall, it has been the residence of several celebrities over the years including Howard Hughes and actor John Wayne. Built in the Streamline Moderne variant of Art Deco architecture, it stands tall along West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip and commands the attention of all passersby. Taking a closer look, you will find the unusual building decorated with plaster friezes of Adam and Eve, various plants and animals, legendary creatures and even a zeppelin airship. For native Angelinos at least, Sunset Tower is as much of a Hollywood landmark as the Hollywood Sign itself.
Peace Awareness Labyrinth and Gardens
Technically this location is just a bit south of West Hollywood, but it is too extraordinary for us not to mention. This spiritual retreat center offers an oasis of calm to residents and visitors to West Hollywood and the rest of Los Angeles. The center itself is headquartered in the Guasti Villa, a stunning historic home built in the Italian Renaissance style. The Guasti Villa was built in 1910 by Secundo Guasti, owner of the world’s largest winery at the time.
The property and home changed hands several times over the decades and tasteful extensions were added along with the surrounding gardens and labyrinth. The home is surrounded by gorgeous koi ponds lined with flowering lily pads. The Meditation Gardens feature tranquil foliage including delicate orchids, stately elm trees and bubbling fountains. The small walking labyrinth is both a decorative feature of the gardens and a functional installment. Visitors are invited to “walk the labyrinth” as a tool to raise consciousness.
Looking for a Design-Build Firm in West Hollywood?
New World Design Builders and K2 Studios have partnered with one another to offer an unparalleled organization of architectural excellence. By marrying the worlds of engineering and interior design, we are able to create complete visions for our clients and help them see their dreams made manifest.
This collective of creative professionals applies equal measures of art and science to bring beautiful new functional spaces into our world. Our creations exemplify modern design while remaining forever faithful to the core tenets of classic architecture and design. A masterful blending of form and function is our stock in trade
New World Design Builders is a full-service architectural design-build firm based in NYC that works nationally and is dedicated to helping its clients express their passions and values in the physical realm. If you’re ready to start a new design and/or construction project in West Hollywood or anywhere else, let’s talk about how New World Design Builders can bring your architectural and interior design dreams to life.