The historic neon sign survived a fire that destroyed a 1905 house that once served as the Hollywood Center Motel’s office.

The Hollywood Center Motel, a roadside fixture on Sunset Boulevard that opened in the 1950s but more recently became vacant and fell into disrepair, went up in flames in a major fire around 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 4 that took 70 firefighters more than hour to extinguish. Afterward, the city declared a house on the property a public safety risk and it was demolished by the Los Angeles Fire Department.

LAFD Capt. Adam VanGerpen said firefighters rescued a man from the building and took him to the hospital in stable condition. The property was fenced and the building was supposed to be unoccupied, but squatters had gained access many times over the past year. LAFD spokeswoman Jennifer Middleton said the LAFD responded to three or four previous fires at the former motel. The exact cause remains under investigation by the arson unit, she added.

The fire is the latest twist in the long saga of the property and the once prominent two-story Craftsman-style house originally built there in 1905 by early Hollywood landowners William and Sarah Avery. According to information provided by Hollywood Heritage, the Averys called their home “El Nido” – the nest – and it was a fixture at 6720 Sunset Blvd. After William Avery died in 1908, the property was purchased in 1921 by Edmund Scholtz, who built a bungalow court which were used as rentals around the main house. In the mid-1950s, the site was changed into a 23-unit motel. The recognizable decorative block walls and neon sign fronting Sunset Boulevard were added in 1958, according to Hollywood Heritage, which is in the midst of a campaign to get historic designation for the site.

An example of the roadside motels that lined Sunset Boulevard during an earlier era, the Hollywood Center Motel remained a destination as Hollywood changed and became more urbanized in the 1960s and ‘70s. It was frequently used in TV crime shows such as “Perry Mason” and “The Rockford Files” and later the film “L.A. Confidential” in the 1990s.

The motel remained in operation into the new millennium and later became a rental property. In 2024, it was acquired by current owner, Andranik Sogoyan, according to his representative, land-use consultant Athena Novak. Sogoyan is not a developer, and he took possession of the former motel property because he had guaranteed a loan for a previous buyer, Novak said. No project is currently planned at the site, and the fire has now cast uncertainty on any potential future plans, she added.

Over the past year, Hollywood Heritage was in the process of getting the site designated as a historic-cultural status in the city of Los Angeles, which has also now been cast into uncertainty. Brian Curran, co-chair of Hollywood Heritage’s Preservation Committee, which is spearheading the effort to preserve the Hollywood Center Motel, said he can’t predict what will happen next, but remains optimistic. He said there is still a glimmer of hope the site will be designated as a historic-cultural monument, and he is scheduled to meet with the property owner and members of the Planning Commission at the site on Jan. 8 to see if there is anything remaining that could still qualify. Curran said the block wall façade and sign, as well as the remaining bungalows, remain an important example of Hollywood history.

“We are going to be looking for what’s left, and see if any kind of significant structures or elements remain that still deserve protection,” Curran added, stating it was “a gut punch” to see the main building destroyed. “I was shocked … just sick in the end.”

Los Angeles City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez, 13th District, said he was also dismayed by the fire.

“It was saddening to see the news about the loss of this historic structure that community members were actively trying to preserve,” Soto-Martinez added. “We’re grateful to the firefighters who worked to put out the fire and keep the community safe. We’re working with city partners to ensure the property is secure and any safety concerns are addressed.”

Novak added that the property owner is open to preservation and had a study conducted that supports historic designation. She added that Sogoyan took steps to keep the site secure, but unhoused people continually cut through wrought iron fencing and other barriers and kept coming onto the site. She said the owner will continue to attempt to keep the site secure, but remains uncertain about exactly what will happen next.

“I want people to know that he did try to keep people out of there. We are just as upset as everyone else that this happened,” Novak said. “It’s wait-and-see. If there is a bit of good news, it’s that it may be designated historic, so anything built there could maybe include the signage and the block wall.”

A 1905 home that once served as the office for the Hollywood Center Motel office was reduced to a pile of rubble after a Jan. 4 fire. (photo by Edwin Folven)