Fred C. Thomson Building
{{Short description|Office building in Los Angeles, California}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Fred C. Thomson Building
| image = Fred c thomson building.jpg
| caption = Hollywood Citizen News excerpt about the building, 1927
| architectural_style = Spanish Colonial Revival
| groundbreaking_date =
| completion_date = 1927
| architect = Gogerty and Weyl
| location = 6528 West Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
| coordinates = {{coord|34.0979|-118.3326|type:landmark_region:US-CA|display=inline,title}}
| embedded = {{designation list | embed=yes
| designation1 = Los Angeles
| designation1_date = November 5, 2019
| designation1_number = 1196
}}
}}
Fred C. Thomson Building, also known as the Court of Olive,{{cite web |title=The Fred Thomson building – aka the "Court of Olive" – 6530 Sunset Boulevard, circa late 1920s |url=https://martinturnbull.com/2014/02/04/the-fred-thomson-building-aka-the-court-of-olive-6530-sunset-boulevard-circa-late-1920s/ |first=Martin |last=Turnbull |date=February 4, 2014}} is a historic retail building located at 6528 West Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
History
Fred C. Thomson Building was designed by the architectural partnership Gogerty and Weyl for silent film star Fred Thomson and his journalist and screenwriter wife Frances Marion. It was built in 1927-1928{{cite web |url=https://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/637/ |publisher=University of Washington Pacific Coast Architecture Database |title=Carl Jules Weyl Sr. (Architect)|first=Alan|last=Michelson|accessdate=February 18, 2025}}{{cite web |url=https://historicplacesla.lacity.org/report/f2600f0e-f1fc-11ea-9ada-000d3a59ef9a |publisher=City of Los Angeles |title=Historic Resource - Fred C. Thomson Building 6528 W Sunset Blvd
|date=November 5, 2019}} at a cost of $100,000 {{USDCY|100000|1927}}{{cite news |title=Fred C. Thomson Building |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fred_c_thomson_building.jpg |newspaper=Hollywood Citizen News |date=June 25, 1927}} and its original tenants included Mary Helen Tea Room, Sunshine of Hollywood, Kepners hair salon, and offices for Weyl.{{cite web |title=Image / [Thompson building and courtyard, Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood] (13 views) |url=https://calisphere.org/item/ba5ea2de828b82c047d943ef47f98ad9/ |publisher=University of California - Calisphere |accessdate=February 18, 2025}} The building also housed Travis Benton's (head of Paramount Studios' costume department) studio and store during its early years.{{cite web |title=AIDS Healthcare Foundation Leads Charge to Mark Iconic, Hollywood Cat & Fiddle Restaurant & Pub Building a Historic-Cultural Monument, Passes City Council |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191108005674/en/AIDS-Healthcare-Foundation-Leads-Charge-to-Mark-Iconic-Hollywood-Cat-Fiddle-Restaurant-Pub-Building-a-Historic-Cultural-Monument-Passes-City-Council |publisher=Business Wire |date=November 8, 2019}}
Fred Thompson died in 1928, after which the building was sold to Franklin Rice, who owned it until his death in 1949.{{cite news |title=Sunset building gets historic-cultural status |url=https://beverlypress.com/2019/11/sunset-building-gets-historic-cultural-status/ |newspaper=Beverly Press Park Labrea News |first=Morgan |last=Keith |date=November 7, 2019}} The building was then purchased by Edgar Bergen, who broadcast The Charlie McCarthy Show from it intermittently for the next seven years.{{Cite web |title=Fred C. Thomson Building |url=https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2019/19-1067_misc_09-13-2019.pdf |publisher=Los Angeles City Planning Department |date=August 15, 2019 |language=en-US}}
The Cat & Fiddle occupied the building from 1985 to 2014, and it has since been home to April Bloomfield's The Hearth and Hound.
The building was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #1196 in 2019.{{Cite web |title=Historical Cultural Monuments List |url=https://planning.lacity.org/odocument/24f6fce7-f73d-4bca-87bc-c77ed3fc5d4f/Historical_Cultural_Monuments_List.pdf |publisher=City of Los Angeles |access-date=August 31, 2024 |language=en-US}}
Architecture and design
Fred C. Thomson building features Spanish Colonial Revival architecture and is considered an excellent and intact example of the style. Elements of the style featured in the building include smooth stucco wall cladding, multi-lite wood casement windows, and a hipped red-tiled roof. Additional distinguishing features of the building include an interior courtyard, ornamental wall cutouts, arched window openings, and decorative wrought iron.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Greater Hollywood}}
{{LAHMC}}
Category:Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments