Garden Court Apartments (Los Angeles, California)

The four-story, 190-room Garden Court Apartments was a luxury apartment complex on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. The complex was notable for its history, tenants, and luxurious nature.

History
Garden Court Apartments was designed by Frank Meline at the behest of J.E. Ransford, and built in 1917. The complex was considered high luxury for its time, and featured tennis courts, ballrooms, a billiard room, and suites furnished with oriental carpets, oil paintings, and grand pianos. Some of the Garden Court's most notable residents include Clara Bow, Louis B. Mayer, Carl Laemmle, Mack Sennett, Stan Laurel, John Gilbert, and Mae Murray.

The building's fortunes declined in the 1960s, but by the late 1970s, it became the rallying point for Hollywood preservation. Numerous plans were announced and fundraisers held to transform the building into a film museum, but to no avail, the site was purchased with plans to build a new 13-story building on the property.

Although Garden Court Apartments was designated a Los Angeles Cultural-Historic Monument, one that emphasized the rarity of its architectural style, it succumbed to residency and fire damage. By 1980, the building was inhabited by squatters and nicknamed "Hotel Hell". It was noted in the National Register of Historic Places on October 21, 1982, but in 1984, it was removed as a contributing property in the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District due to its damage and partial demolition. It was demolished completely later that year.

The 13-story building planned for the property was never built. Instead, the Hollywood Galaxy was built and served as home of the Hollywood Entertainment Museum until it closed in 2007.

Architecture
The building was made of brick and concrete and designed in the Beaux Arts style. It had an H-shaped layout with symmetrical massing, and its figural corbels that supported the second-story molding were integral to its style.