1927 Boulevard Landmark Where the First Academy Awards Were Held
7000 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Age
All ages welcome as a hotel guest; the property is a working luxury hotel.
Cost
$$$$
Standard rooms typically run several hundred dollars per night; lobby and Tropicana pool deck areas are accessible to non-guests during dining or event visits.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved urban sidewalk and indoor flooring
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1927 · First Academy Awards ceremony (1929) · Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District (NRHP) · Early studio-era hospitality
The Hollywood Roosevelt opened at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in May 1927 as one of the first luxury hotels in the rapidly expanding film district. The Spanish Colonial Revival building was financed by a syndicate associated with the early motion-picture industry, and it positioned itself from day one as the social hub of Hollywood's emerging star culture.
On May 16, 1929, the hotel's Blossom Ballroom hosted the first Academy Awards ceremony — a 15-minute private banquet for roughly 270 guests, with winners announced in advance. The ceremony cemented the Roosevelt's place in film history and the venue has continued to host industry events through subsequent decades.
The hotel's guest registry through the studio era reads as a roster of mid-century Hollywood: Marilyn Monroe occupied a poolside suite during her early modeling and acting career in the late 1940s, and Montgomery Clift stayed in Room 928 for three months in 1952 while preparing for his role as Robert E. Lee Prewitt in 'From Here to Eternity.' Other long-term and short-term residents during the period included Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, and Carole Lombard.
The Roosevelt underwent a major renovation in 2005 under designer Dodd Mitchell, which restored elements of the original Spanish Colonial detailing while updating the rooms for contemporary use. The Tropicana pool, painted on the bottom by David Hockney in 1988, became a downtown nightlife destination. The hotel remains independently operated as a luxury property and is included on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District.
Sources
Two named figures anchor the Roosevelt's haunted reputation. Marilyn Monroe lived at the hotel for two years early in her career as Norma Jeane Baker, occupying a poolside suite booked by studio executives during her modeling and starlet years. Guests and staff have reported seeing the reflection of a blonde woman in a full-length mirror once kept in Suite 1200; the mirror was relocated to a lower-level hallway after the renovation and visitors continue to report glances of a woman who is not there when they turn around.
Montgomery Clift stayed in Room 928 for three months in 1952 while preparing for 'From Here to Eternity,' practicing the bugle and pacing the corridor outside the room. Guests on the ninth floor have reported faint horn notes late at night and the sound of footsteps along the hallway, accounts that began circulating after Clift's death in 1966.
Other reported phenomena at the hotel include the figure of a man in a white suit observed in the Blossom Ballroom, cold drafts in the original elevator lobby, and a child's laughter near the Tropicana pool. The hotel has been featured in television paranormal programming including 'Ghost Adventures' and various 'Most Haunted' segments, and Suite 1200 (now marketed as the Marilyn Monroe Suite) is regularly requested by guests interested in the property's ghost stories.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Book a stay at the working luxury hotel and explore the historic public spaces, including the Spanish Colonial lobby and the David Hockney-painted Tropicana pool. The 12th floor and Suite 1200 carry long-standing stories tied to Marilyn Monroe's residence there in the late 1940s.
Walk the 1927 Spanish Colonial lobby, view the historical plaques, and step outside for the Hollywood Walk of Fame stars in front of the hotel. The lobby is open to the public; please be respectful of overnight guests.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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