# Cherokee Building

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_Building
> Source revision: 1343916576
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{{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](/source/Hollywood%2C_California) 
| coordinates = {{coord|34.1015|-118.3344|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Los Angeles 
| map_caption = Location of building in [Los Angeles County](/source/Los_Angeles_County)
| built                    = 1927
| architect                = [Norman W. Alpaugh](/source/Norman_W._Alpaugh)
| architecture             = [Spanish Colonial Revival](/source/Spanish_Colonial_Revival)
| designated_nrhp_type     = April 4, 1985
}}

'''Cherokee Building''' is a historic two-story commercial structure located at 6630 W. [Hollywood Boulevard](/source/Hollywood_Boulevard) and 1652 N. Cherokee Avenue in [Hollywood, California](/source/Hollywood%2C_California). 

== History ==
Cherokee Building was built by [Norman W. Alpaugh](/source/Norman_W._Alpaugh) in 1929 and features a [Spanish Colonial Revival](/source/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](/source/United_States_Department_of_the_Interior) - [National Park Service](/source/National_Park_Service) |date=April 4, 1985 |language=en-US}}</ref> The building housed Hollywood's first [drive-in](/source/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](/source/Hollywood_Chamber_of_Commerce) |accessdate=July 16, 2024 |language=en-US}}</ref>

One of Cherokee Building's original tenants was a [hair salon](/source/hair_salon) that acted as a front for a [Prohibition-era](/source/Prohibition-era) illegal card club and gambling [speakeasy](/source/speakeasy). In the 1930s, [Gene Austin](/source/Gene_Austin) opened a nightclub in the building, and that business was followed by several [bars](/source/Bar_(establishment)), including a [gay bar](/source/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](/source/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](/source/LA_Weekly) |date=June 27, 2017 |author=James Bartlett |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1944, the bar changed to [Boardner's](/source/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](/source/LA_Weekly) |date=April 26, 2000 |author=Steven Mikulan |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1938, [Larry Edmunds Bookshop](/source/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](/source/Hollywood_Boulevard_Commercial_and_Entertainment_District) was added to the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places), with Cherokee Building listed as a [contributing property](/source/contributing_property) in the district.<ref name=NRHS1/>

== Architecture ==
thumb|Cherokee Building from Cherokee Ave

Cherokee Building was built with [concrete](/source/concrete) in an L-shaped configuration. The building features a [Spanish Colonial Revival](/source/Spanish_Colonial_Revival) design, one that includes an elaborate [stringcourse](/source/stringcourse), a [tile](/source/tile)d roof, [Moorish arch](/source/Moorish_arch)es, a [brick](/source/brick) [patio](/source/patio) with a tiled [fountain](/source/fountain) as its [focal point](/source/Focus_(optics)), [Churrigueresque](/source/Churrigueresque) and [wrought iron](/source/wrought_iron) ornamentation, and ornamental [medallions](/source/Medallion_(architecture)).<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](/source/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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cherokee Building](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_Building) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_Building?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.