6253 Hollywood At Vine

The four of us barely fit into Elevator One. My friend waves the key fob across the RF receiver above a bank of buttons before it accepts our button press for the twelfth floor. «This looks like the Tower of Terror,» my other friend observes. It’s dimly lit and the back wall is blacked out glass instead of a mirror, further reinforcing the feeling that we’re about to drop two stories before we shoot to the roof, have our picture taken, then plummet a final time to our deaths. The Tower of Terror comment is a sentiment I hear more than once during my very short stay here at what used to be the Bank of Hollywood building.
Which leads us to two points: 1) the building is old (c. 1930); and 2) it’s a commercial building rezoned and remodeled into residential condo lofts. Anyone who’s lived in in an urban residential conversion will be used to the concrete surfaces and exposed ducting. Our particular unit on the top floor feels unmistakably like (and incidentally is) a bachelor pad. The one bed, two bath 1,060 sq. ft. loft gives a view right down on Hollywood Blvd., the W Hotel across the street from us, and the Pantages next door. It’s a great location for anyone planning to hang out and party in Hollywood and the immediate environs. Around the clock professional security staff keeps the riffraff at bay and a gated private parking lot with valet provides a safe harbour for one of your vehicles.
The roof is tiny with a huge Patron sign stretching above you into the night sky. A linear firepit sits at one corner and probably provides zero warmth when the temperature drops to the high 30s as it did on NYE. The Hollywood sign is visible off in the distance behind the Capitol Records building. It’s a pleasant place to relax, but pales in comparison to the roof pool of 1645 Vine that’s in full jealousy-​inducing view across the intersection.
We later ask one of the security staff if they’ve heard of any hauntings in the building. He professionally and discreetly chooses not to answer my question directly and simply says, «The building is very old,» leaving us to fill in the rest.
Extra credit tip: Long-​term and overnight parking is available on Selma between Argyle and Vine for only $ 16 a day. Selma is a one-​way street for that block and goes east to west.