When the 12-story Taft Building was completed in 1923 at the southeast corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, it stood in contrast to the sprawling fields and orchards that dominated the surrounding area at the time.

The intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street was once considered to be Los Angeles’ version of Times Square. An electric sign was even placed on the Taft Building. (photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources)

But the building symbolized what was soon to come, as it became Hollywood’s first high-rise office building, and sparked a flurry of development that would soon transform Hollywood and Vine into one of the world’s most famous intersections.

Today, the Taft Building remains an icon at the corner of Hollywood and Vine, and it is currently undergoing an exterior renovation. A representative of the building’s owner, DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, said the renovation is intended to restore the Taft Building to its former glory as a centerpiece of Hollywood golden era.

The neo-Renaissance building was designed by the famed architects Percy A. Eisen and Albert R. Walker, who were also known for designing the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and the James Oviatt Building, in downtown L.A. The building was named for A.Z. Taft, a wealthy landowner in the Hollywood area during the early part of the 20th Century. He owned Hollywood’s first Methodist church, which was located at the corner.

The church was razed to make way for the Taft Building, which inspired the construction of similar high-rises that soon sprang up on the other corners of the intersection, said Marc Wanamaker, a historian with Hollywood Heritage and the Bison Archives. Prior to the Taft Building’s construction, farms and extravagant homes built by wealthy “Easterners” lined Hollywood Boulevard, which had previously been named Prospect Avenue, Wanamaker said.

“Between 1924 and 1927, a whole slew of buildings started to go up,” he said. “Across the street was the Dyas Building, which became the Broadway [department store]. When the film industry began to grow, new tenants moved into the Taft Building  — agents for actors, directors and film stars of the 1920s, from Gloria Swanson to Gary Cooper.  It was a very busy period in the construction of Hollywood’s east side.”

Wanamaker said the Famous Players-Lasky studio, which later became Paramount Pictures, was located a block south of the Taft Building until moving to its current site on Melrose Avenue in 1926. Numerous stars had offices in the Taft Building such as Will Rogers and Charlie Chaplin. Actor Clark Gable’s dentist also had an office at the location.

Wanamaker said after the film industry began to spread to other areas in Hollywood during the 1920s and ‘30s, the Taft Building continued to operate as an office building. The radio industry began taking shape in the neighborhood at the time, and Taft Building housed executive offices. The ground level of the building was also formerly home to well-known pharmacies over the years, including the Owl Drug Store. The Pantages Theatre was built in 1931 across the street, further solidifying the Hollywood and Vine’s iconic status.

“That became quite the downtown of Hollywood,” Wanamaker said. “The Taft Building was the catalyst for major development in the 1920s and later on the east side of Vine, and it stayed that way for years.”

In the 1940s, Hollywood and Vine became Los Angeles’ version of New York’s Times Square, according to Wanamaker. An electric message sign similar to those at the New York landmark was installed on the sides of the Taft Building. In the 1950s, the building became a centerpiece of the Santa Claus Lane Parade — a precursor to the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

“That was the hub of activity,” he said. “They used to hang the cameras out the windows.”

During the following decades, ownership of the building changed many times, and it somewhat faded from the spotlight, Wanamaker said. In the 1990s, an effort began to restore Hollywood’s landmarks, and the Taft Building was designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1999, according to Tim Rosenstein, of the city of Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources. The application for historic-cultural designation was submitted by the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs. It lists the Taft Building’s architectural style, the fact that it was built by Eisen and Walker and that it was Hollywood’s first high-rise, as the reasons for designation.

Sean Abramson, of DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, said the company has owned the building for the past three years, and it currently houses offices, as well as ground-level retail shops. Scaffolding has been erected around the building and the work is ongoing. Abramson said he did not know how long the work would take, but it will likely be completed within the next couple of months. The project calls for the brick exterior to be restored, as well as the ornamental columns and façade of the building’s top two floors.

“As a firm, we pay high attention to aesthetics and the history of the properties we own,” Abramson said. “This work wasn’t necessarily mandated, but we felt it was important to restore it the best we can.”

That sentiment was echoed by Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, 13th District, who said he is pleased with the building’s renovations. The councilman said when he moved to Los Angeles in 1982, his dentist had an office in the building, which forever links him to Clark Gable.

“That’s where it ends,” O’Farrell joked. “In my view, they seem to be bringing it back to life. It’s such an iconic building and important corner, so I am glad to see it being worked on.”

Wanamaker also said he is pleased with the building’s renovations, and that it should be preserved.

“It’s the building that spurred the other buildings at that corner,” Wanamaker added. “It’s an important landmark in Hollywood history.”