The Fairmont Century Plaza is a 19-story luxury hotel in Century City , Los Angeles , US. The hotel fronts the Avenue of the Stars, adjacent to the twin Century Plaza Towers and the 2000 Avenue of the Stars complex. At the time of its opening in 1966, the Century Plaza Hotel was the highest building in Century City, with views extending all the way to the Pacific Ocean . It was also the first hotel to have color televisions in all of its rooms. The hotel closed for renovations in 2016, and reopened on September 27, 2021, operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts . It is a member of Historic Hotels of America .
32-540: In 1961, developer William Zeckendorf and Alcoa bought about 180 acres (0.73 km) from 20th Century Fox after the studio had suffered a string of expensive film flops, culminating in the box-office disaster Cleopatra . Century City was built as "a city within a city" with the arc-shaped, 19-story, 750-room Minoru Yamasaki -designed Century Plaza as the centerpiece. When the Century Plaza began operating in 1966, its doormen wore red Beefeater costumes. The hotel
64-569: A Democratic fundraiser at the hotel. On August 13, 1969, President Richard Nixon hosted a lavish state dinner in the Los Angeles Ballroom to celebrate the Apollo 11 Moon landing astronauts. In 1984, the hotel added a 322-room tower on the south portion of the property, adjacent to Olympic Boulevard. The Tower at Century Plaza was marketed as a luxury wing of the hotel and increased capacity to 1,072 rooms. Ronald Reagan by arrangement signed in as
96-407: A program of National Trust for Historic Preservation, in 2022. The Century Plaza has played host to various celebrities, foreign dignitaries, and presidents; among them, Marshal Josip Broz Tito , Moshe Dayan , Lyndon Johnson , Ronald Reagan , Prince Philip , and David Ben-Gurion . The hotel was the venue for the 1967 Emmy Awards , and the 1970 and 1971 Grammy Awards . It was also the venue for
128-615: A proposed US$ 400,000,000 (equivalent to $ 4,224,221,453 in 2023) Century City . The studio had suffered a string of expensive flops, culminating in the box-office disaster Cleopatra (1963) and was in dire need of money. The project, conceived under the direction of Edmund Herrscher , the studio's director of property development, had been announced the first week of 1958, with construction said to begin in July 1958. However, construction did not start as promised, and rumors, later confirmed, circulated that developer Zeckendorf would take over
160-610: A significant portion of the New York City urban landscape. Architects I. M. Pei and Le Corbusier designed structures for Zeckendorf's development projects. Zeckendorf was born to a Jewish family in Paris, Illinois , the son of a hardware store manager. His family moved to New York City when he was three years old. He attended New York University but dropped out to work at the real estate company of his uncle, Sam Borchard. He soon left his uncle's firm to work for Webb & Knapp ,
192-639: A small New York building manager and brokerage. Zeckendorf's most notable property acquisition, and potential development of a "dream city" to rival Rockefeller Center , was a 17-acre (69,000 m ) site along the East River between 42nd Street and 48th Street. In a now celebrated transaction in December 1946, the prominent architect Wallace Harrison and Nelson Rockefeller bought the site from him for $ 8.5 million ($ 133 million in 2023) and Nelson's father John D. Rockefeller Jr. subsequently donated this land for
224-584: A spectacular bankruptcy." Zeckendorf was married four times. His first wife was Irma Levy; they had two children: William Zeckendorf Jr. and Susan Zeckendorf Nicholson. They later divorced and she remarried to the music critic and historian Irving Kolodin . His second wife was Marion Griffin who died in 1968. In 1972, he married Alice Odenheimer Bache , widow of Harold L. Bache . They subsequently divorced and he married Louise Betterly Malcolm in 1975. On September 30, 1976, William Zeckendorf died in his residence on 65th Street and Park Avenue after suffering
256-527: A stroke. Historic Hotels of America Historic Hotels of America is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that was founded in 1989 with 32 charter members; the program accepts nominations and identifies hotels in the United States that have maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity. As of 2015, the program included over 260 members in 44 of
288-596: The 2009 and 2010 Visual Effects Society 's prestigious annual awards ceremony. In early 2022 the newly re-opened Hotel hosted the Academy Awards Nominees lunch, the Critics Choice awards, and the Producers Guild Awards honouring George Lucas. The Century Plaza Hotel's dramatic curved facade is seen in the 1980 film, 9 To 5 , both from a distant establishing shot and from one of the balconies, when
320-622: The 50 states and Puerto Rico , the U.S. Virgin Islands , and Washington, D.C. . By 2024, the program expanded to include 281 hotels. To be included in the program, a hotel must be at least 50 years old, designated by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark or listed on or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places ; and recognized as having historic significance. The program generates funds for
352-606: The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in 2005 for US$ 293 million and then spent $ 22 million upgrading the guest rooms and common areas. On June 1, 2008, Sunstone sold the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza to Next Century Associates for $ 366.5 million, $ 505,000 per room, one of the highest paid for a hotel in California. On December 18, 2008, the new owners announced plans to demolish the hotel and build a pair of fifty-story towers in its place. On April 28, 2009, The Century Plaza Hotel
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#1732838130318384-650: The Mile High Center (now part of Wells Fargo Center ) in downtown Denver , and Place Ville Marie in downtown Montreal . Zeckendorf also partnered with Chicago real estate titan Arthur Rubloff to develop a stretch of Michigan Avenue into what Rubloff dubbed the Magnificent Mile . The Rubloff Company was eventually acquired by Prudential and subsequently has become a division of Berkshire Hathaway . The real estate tycoon and his company, Webb & Knapp, also were involved in theme park investment following
416-881: The National Trust through commissions on bookings done through their website, and from membership fees. Current and former members of the HHA program, by state, include: Former members: Former members: 2022 HHA still Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Formerly listed: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Former members: Charter members of Historic Hotels of America no longer with
448-768: The building of the United Nations Headquarters . Zeckendorf also owned New York's famous Chrysler Building and the venerable Hotel Astor in Times Square as well as the Commodore Hotel , the Drake Hotel , Hotel Manhattan and the Chatham Hotel. He purchased Chicago's famous Robie House in 1958, before transferring ownership to the University of Chicago . He developed two of I. M. Pei 's early skyscrapers —
480-493: The character Missy Hart is staying in the hotel. The Century Plaza Hotel is featured in the 2008 video game, Midnight Club: Los Angeles , and is mimicked in the 2004 video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . William Zeckendorf William Zeckendorf Sr. (June 30, 1905 – September 30, 1976) was a prominent American real estate developer . Through his development company Webb and Knapp — for which he began working in 1938 and which he purchased in 1949 — he developed
512-600: The construction on the marshland of the world's largest co-operative housing project known as Co-op City . Zeckendorf's ownership of the land and his role in Freedomland are documented in the book Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History (Theme Park Press, 2019). In December 1958, Zeckendorf entered into a deal with Spyros Skouras , head of 20th Century-Fox , to purchase Fox's project to develop 176 acres (0.71 km ) of its historic backlot in Los Angeles, California , into
544-463: The early 1950s. The property was located in The Bronx , a borough of New York City. The park lasted just five years (1960–1964) and it was under various layers of management that included Zeckendorf and his son. According to Zeckendorf in a newspaper article that appeared during 1970, the theme park, unknown to the public at the time, served as a "placeholder" for the land to obtain variances that permitted
576-452: The embodiment of glamorous real-estate dealmaking, which included developing Roosevelt Airfield , where Charles Lindbergh began his transatlantic flight, and helping to advance and develop Long Island University . From the start of his career Zeckendorf had been able to use his dealmaking skills to acquire or build projects for which he lacked the funds, but in time the under-funding caught up with him, and "his overextended company crashed in
608-505: The entertainment industry, to come up with a campaign and execute it. Pomerantz turned to a young publicist he had hired, Worley Thorne , the only other publicist in the small firm, for suggestions. Thorne said he'd call friends in the press to assess their attitudes. Thorne learned that there was deep skepticism that the project would ever be built. 20th did not have the money, which is why they brought in Zeckendorf, but apparently Zeckendorf
640-527: The first guest of the newly completed Tower on December 27, 1984. In 1999 the hotel rededicated its penthouse suite comprising the entire 32nd floor the Ronald Reagan Suite. While Reagan was in office, he stayed in the Tower so frequently the media dubbed it his Western White House . President Reagan had recently celebrated his re-election to a second term as President on the stage of the Los Angeles Ballroom in
672-496: The hotel were, instead, built behind it. Designed by Pei Cobb Freed , Gensler , and Marmol Radziner , they contain 268 condominiums. The original 726-room hotel tower was rebuilt with 400 much larger guest rooms and 63 condominiums. The hotel reopened on September 27, 2021 as the Fairmont Century Plaza , managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts . The Fairmont Century Plaza was then inducted into Historic Hotels of America ,
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#1732838130318704-514: The mayors of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills , and Santa Monica , plus politicians and other dignitaries, invited, as well as all the Southern California press. He and Pomerantz would find a star to "launch" the project by breaking a bottle of champagne on the shack prior to its being demolished. Later, they secured Mary Pickford for that task. It was all purely symbolic, since construction did not actually begin, but no one stated that openly, it
736-419: The original Century Plaza Hotel on November 6, 1984. In 2000, soon after Westin was acquired by Starwood, the Tower was converted into a separate hotel under a more luxurious Starwood brand, The St. Regis Los Angeles . That hotel was then sold by the owners of the Century Plaza in 2005 to developers who closed it for conversion to residential use. With its 1980s ceilings too low to meet modern residential demands,
768-466: The plan. Thorne called Herrscher and asked if there was some small building they could demolish with a bulldozer, to begin to "break ground" for the Becket building. Herrscher said there was a tin shack that was expendable and he'd make it available, as well as the bulldozer. McCrary and William Zeckendorf, Jr. , vice-president of Webb & Knapp, also approved. Thorne said that it should be a large affair with
800-477: The project by purchasing 20th's interest in the project for US$ 53 million . The following March it was announced that construction would begin that month on the new headquarters for architect Welton Becket , chief architect on the project That did not occur either. Zeckendorf hired New York public relations executive Tex McCrary to lend new life and visibility to the project. McCrary, in turn contracted with Los Angeles publicist Charles A. Pomerantz , well known in
832-468: The relatively new building was razed to make way for The Century , a high-rise condominium completed in fall 2009. In 2006, after being managed for its entire forty-year history by Westin Hotels, the property was taken over by Hyatt Hotels and renamed Hyatt Regency Century Plaza . However, the sign above the main entrance reading The Century Plaza was left unchanged. Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. bought
864-454: The studio's conception of Century City as "a city within a city" with the arc-shaped, 19-story Century Plaza Hotel to be the centerpiece. This joint-venture marked an increasing interest by large corporations with land "surplus" in order to create housing communities, industrial parks and office buildings; marking the first movement from traditional industry into real estate investing . Before his company's bankruptcy in 1965, Zeckendorf became
896-583: The successful debut of Disneyland. Zeckendorf came to know C.V. Wood , who first helped build Disneyland as a Disney employee and then developed theme parks in Colorado, Massachusetts, New York (on Zeckendorf's property) and Texas under his own Marco Engineering company. Zeckendorf and his company enjoyed various connections to the Marco Engineering parks. In New York, Wood created and built Freedomland U.S.A. on marshland that had been owned by Zeckendorf since
928-622: Was added to The National Trust for Historic Preservation 's list of the 11 most endangered historic places in America. In February 2010, the developer announced that it would renovate the historic hotel building and convert some of the floors to condominiums, rather than demolishing and replacing the building as previously proposed. The hotel closed on March 1, 2016 to begin the $ 2.5 billion overhaul. It ceased to be operated by Hyatt at this time. The two residential towers (named Century Plaza North Tower and Century Plaza South Tower ) that were to replace
960-485: Was dramatic, and very successful. The Los Angeles Times devoted almost three full pages to its coverage of the event. Still lacking sufficient money, Zeckendorf was forced to make US$ 1,000 per day penalty payments to Fox. In 1960, Zeckendorf solved his problem by partnering with Alcoa in a joint-venture relationship to finally build Century City, which by now had escalated to a US$ 500,000,000 (equivalent to $ 5,149,606,299 in 2023) project. The new owners embraced
992-482: Was managed by Western International Hotels, which later changed its name to Westin Hotels . The hotel's ballrooms became the center for numerous high-profile events, including an opening charity gala in 1966 with Bob Hope as master of ceremonies, who with singer Andy Williams entertained Ronald and Nancy Reagan and Walt and Lillian Disney . In 1967, 1,300 club-swinging police clashed with about 10,000 anti- Vietnam War demonstrators as President Johnson spoke at
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1024-407: Was unable to deliver even the $ 53-million purchase price, let alone $ 400 million. The California papers had already given a lot of publicity to Century City and, for them, any more coverage would just be re-hash in which they were not interested. Thorne reported to Pomerantz his opinion that the only way to restore credibility to the project was to actually "begin" construction, and Pomerantz went for
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