Alexandria Hotel: A Forgotten Palace for the Silent Movie Industry

Before there was a Hollywood, silent movies were filmed in downtown Los Angeles. Hollywoodland was originally a residential development with an unmistakable sign. One of the most notable centers of the silent movie era was the Alexandria Hotel, designed in 1906 on the corner of Westside Fifth and Southside Spring Streets.

The Alexandria was more than a gathering locale, it was also the residence for the film industry pioneers. They socialized, ate meals together and dreamed out an industry underneath an enormous stained glass ceiling. Many signed their first film contracts in front of the hotels mounted million-dollar carpet. The hotel flourished until 1920 when the film industry abandoned downtown. One of the owners died in the sinking of the Lusitania. The Alexandria decayed into a flophouse later becoming subsidized residential housing, but lacking its former glamour.