Hollywood Athletic Club, Historic entertainment venue on Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, United States
The Hollywood Athletic Club is a cream-stucco building at 6525 Sunset Boulevard, completed in 1924 by the firm Meyer & Holler. Its two-story wing has a red tile roof, dark arched ground-floor openings and the letters "S.O.C." on the upper facade, while an eight-story flat-roofed tower with rows of small windows and rooftop arches rises behind.
Completed in 1924, the building was designed by Meyer & Holler, the firm behind Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Egyptian Theatre, and was then the tallest building in Hollywood. Initiation cost $150 with $10 monthly dues. It later housed the University of Judaism before falling into disrepair; Gary Berwin bought it in 1978 and restored it at a cost of about $11 million.
The building's name comes from the health club that opened there in 1924, when Hollywood was at its most productive. Its membership read like a studio roster: Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Cecil B. deMille, Clark Gable and Mae West. Later it housed the University of Judaism and, from 1978, Gary Berwin's entertainment complex, where the Beach Boys and Van Halen rented space.
The building is not open to the general public, as it operates as a private event space and office facility. The exterior facade along Sunset Boulevard is visible from the sidewalk and can be photographed without any restrictions.
In 1983 Bryan Adams filmed the music video for "Cuts Like a Knife" in the club's empty swimming pool, directed by Steve Barron. A key scene of the film The Usual Suspects was shot in one of the club's rooms, and David Bowie performed here on September 12, 1997, during his Earthling Tour.
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