Hotel Lankershim was a landmark hotel located at 7th Street and Broadway in the Broadway Theater District in downtown Los Angeles's historic core.

Hotel Lankershim was designed by Robert Brown Young for James Boon Lankershim, whom the building was named after. Construction started in 1902 and was completed in 1905. Prior to construction, the land was the site of a vineyard owned by Judge Wilson Hugh Gray.

The hotel had 200 servants, 250 rooms, and 160 baths at its opening, and was considered far superior to the other hotels in Los Angeles at the time.

In 1979, the Broadway Theater and Commercial District was added to the National Register of Historic Places, with Hotel Lankershim listed as a contributing property in the district. Despite this, the building was largely demolished in the early 1980s following structural damage caused by the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. Post demolition, a six-story parking structure was built on the building's remaining first floor, which was converted to retail, and the building was removed from the register in 2002.

---

The Driftwood Room was a pre-tiki bar and lounge located inside the hotel which flourished in the 1930s.

The Driftwood Room menu below is dated from 1936.

There are no known photos of the Driftwood Room from the time, but photos of the interior lobby of the hotel, probably adjacent the entrance of the Driftwood Room give a sense of the opulence of the time.

Details

Type

Bar & Lounge

Address

Los Angeles, California, United States

Closed?

Yes (Permanently)