{{Short description|Building in Los Angeles, California, U.S.}} {{Infobox NRHP | name = Cherokee Building | nocat = yes | nrhp_type = cp | partof = Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District | partof_refnum = 85000704 | image = Cherokee bldg.jpg | image_size = | caption = The building in 2024 | location = 6630 W. Hollywood Blvd. and 1652 N. Cherokee Ave., Hollywood, California | coordinates = {{coord|34.1015|-118.3344|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | locmapin = Los Angeles | map_caption = Location of building in Los Angeles County | built = 1927 | architect = Norman W. Alpaugh | architecture = Spanish Colonial Revival | designated_nrhp_type = April 4, 1985 }}
'''Cherokee Building''' is a historic two-story commercial structure located at 6630 W. Hollywood Boulevard and 1652 N. Cherokee Avenue in Hollywood, California.
== History == Cherokee Building was built by Norman W. Alpaugh in 1929 and features a Spanish Colonial Revival design.<ref name=NRHS1>{{Cite web |title=Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/236d3254-47ee-4b31-9045-c2999cc465f2/ |publisher=United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service |date=April 4, 1985 |language=en-US}}</ref> The building housed Hollywood's first drive-in businesses, and it catered to the automobile by having a large motor entrance at the rear where motorists could park and enter, rather than entering from the street.<ref name=hmdb>{{Cite web |title=The Cherokee Building - Hollywood Historic Site |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=235280 |publisher=Hollywood Chamber of Commerce |accessdate=July 16, 2024 |language=en-US}}</ref>
One of Cherokee Building's original tenants was a hair salon that acted as a front for a Prohibition-era illegal card club and gambling speakeasy. In the 1930s, Gene Austin opened a nightclub in the building, and that business was followed by several bars, including a gay bar.<ref name=huffpost>{{Cite web |author=Xaque Gruber |title=Boardners Celebrates 70 Years As Hollywood Boulevard's Classic Bar |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/boardners-celebrates-70-years_b_1473177 |publisher=Huffington Post |date=December 16, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=laweekly>{{Cite web |title=Gangsters, ghosts and a classic haunt: The history of Hollywood's Cherokee Building |url=https://www.laweekly.com/gangsters-ghosts-and-a-classic-haunt-the-history-of-hollywoods-cherokee-building/ |publisher=LA Weekly |date=June 27, 2017 |author=James Bartlett |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1944, the bar changed to Boardner's, whose name has remained ever since.<ref name=laweekly2>{{Cite web |title=Hollywood, Straight Up |url=https://www.laweekly.com/hollywood-straight-up/ |publisher=LA Weekly |date=April 26, 2000 |author=Steven Mikulan |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 1938, Larry Edmunds Bookshop moved into one of the building's storefronts.<ref name=hmdb/> In the 1960s and 70s, several clothing stores popular with rock musicians were located in this building.<ref name=laweekly/>
In 1984, the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District was added to the National Register of Historic Places, with Cherokee Building listed as a contributing property in the district.<ref name=NRHS1/>
== Architecture == thumb|Cherokee Building from Cherokee Ave
Cherokee Building was built with concrete in an L-shaped configuration. The building features a Spanish Colonial Revival design, one that includes an elaborate stringcourse, a tiled roof, Moorish arches, a brick patio with a tiled fountain as its focal point, Churrigueresque and wrought iron ornamentation, and ornamental medallions.<ref name=NRHS1/>
==Filming location== {{See also|Larry Edmunds Bookshop#In popular culture|Boardner's#Film location}} Cherokee Building tenants Boardner's and Larry Edmunds Bookstore are popular film locations.<ref name=voyageLA>{{Cite web |title=Community Highlights: Meet Tricia La Belle |url=https://voyagela.com/interview/community-highlights-meet-tricia-la-belle-of-boardners-by-la-belle-bar-sinister-of-hollywood-bon-vivant-market-cafe-daves-on-broadway-and-the-sportsmans-inn/ |publisher=Voyage LA |date=July 15, 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Heart of Hollywood">{{Cite web |first=Mary |last=Mallor |date=November 18, 2021 |title=Larry Edmunds Bookshop in the Hollywood Walk Of Fame |url=https://www.heartofhollywoodmagazine.com/post/larry-edmunds-bookshop-in-the-hollywood-walk-of-fame |magazine=Heart of Hollywood |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== * List of contributing properties in the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Greater Hollywood}} {{HBCED}}
Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1929 Category:1920s architecture in the United States Category:Buildings and structures in Hollywood, Los Angeles Category:Hollywood Boulevard Category:Revival architecture in the United States Category:Historic district contributing properties in California