Dennis RomeroAs if downtown could take one more hipster, the Ace Hotel chain is opening a venue on Broadway.
Post-hangover, you might retain some memory of the Ace Palm Springs bar from your last trip to Coachella:
Yeah, that place.
The office of City Councilman Jose Huizar this week announced the development with breathless prose:
Ace Hotel has partnered with Greenfield Partners to develop the project, which will create approximately 180 rooms in the office building's 13 floors, as well as a pool, restaurant, bar, and reactivation of the historic theater with approximately 1,600 seats. The development will lead to the creation of hundreds of jobs in space that has not been fully activated in decades.
Ace Hotel Palm Springs; Credit: Kenn Wilson
The location is the circa-1927 United Artists Theater at 933 S. Broadway. The historic venue was a home for old Hollywood (well, back then it was new Hollywood, practically) and even had a private screening room for U.A. co-founder Mary Pickford.
The Spanish Gothic structure now has a cameo in the video game L.A. Noire.
Huizar said the hotel would be a key piece of his “Bringing Back Broadway” 10-year plan to revitalize the area:
… The Ace Hotel will be a shot in the arm for Bringing Back Broadway and will benefit all of Downtown.
The Oregon-based Ace chain has venues in Portland, Seattle, New York and, if memory serves, Palm Springs. Opening date for L.A.? Summer 2013.
The U.A. building was known for its “Jesus Saves” neon signs, which were removed just before Greenfield Partners bought the property last fall. It would be totally, like, ironically cool to restore them as part of the Ace.
It's true.; Credit: Thomas Hawk
'Cause when you walk out of this place drunk and adorned in clashing neon fashion, dude named Hey-soos will save the day with some awesome street tacos.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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