A Hollywood Journey

4. The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Hollywood, CA

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The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is one of Hollywood's most famous landmarks. It's easy to get lost in the parallels of fantasy and reality in Hollywood, and this hotel is no exception. Built in 1927, the hotel was named after President Theodore Roosevelt and is stacked 12 stories high, including a two-story penthouse. The Spanish-style hotel cost $2.5 million to complete, more than $33 million in today's money. It holds 300 rooms and suites. The most famous room is the Blossom Room where the first Academy Awards were held and where Howard Hughes, adventurer and aircraft tycoon, won best-picture honors in 1929 for his film Wings. Marilyn Monroe lived here for two years when her modeling career took off. Her first magazine shoot was taken on the diving board at the pool behind the hotel, which has been removed. David Hockney, an English painter and photographer, created the pool's most recent and stylish underwater mural. Now managed by Thompson Hotels, popularity at this hotel has surged among young Hollywood night owls in the last few years thanks to a trendy nightclub, Teddy's, located in the main hotel lobby. The hotel is also one of Hollywood's most well known haunted landmarks. Although much of the speculation is based off urban myths, there have been many instances of ghostly complaints from employees and guests alike. In December 1985, a maid dusting a mirror, which was previously hung in Monroe's Cabana Suite 229, noticed a blonde woman standing directly behind her reflected in the glass. She turned to speak to the woman, but no one was there. When she looked back into the mirror, the reflection appeared directly behind hers. Cabana Suite 213 has been claimed by many paranormal investigators as one of the most haunted rooms within this hotel. According to front desk employees, a steady stream of people check out of this room in the middle of the night. They claim that the TV, sink, and coffee makers randomly turn on and off. And, about ten people claimed that they saw a headless man coming at them!