The Hudson Apartments (formerly The Historic Hillview Hollywood) is a historical building located on

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...

, and is considered

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

's first "artist's" high-rise. It was founded in 1917 by movie moguls Jesse L. Lasky, co-founder of

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, and his brother-in-law

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor a ...

, co-founder of

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

, better known as

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

. It was one of Hollywood's only apartment buildings at the time willing to rent to aspiring actors since they were considered a financial risk by most

apartment building An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ...

owners. In fact, it catered specifically to actors. It quickly became a Hollywood hot spot. The vast basement housed a rehearsal space until

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...

reputedly converted it to a

speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...

. Former big-screen residents include

Mae Busch Mae Busch (born Annie May Busch; 18 June 1891 – 20 April 1946) was an Australian-born actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, frequ ...

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Ha ...

, and

Viola Dana Viola Dana (born Virginia Flugrath; June 26, 1897 – July 3, 1987) was an American film actress who was successful during the era of silent films. She appeared in over 100 films, but was unable to make the transition to sound films. Early lif ...

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

was once a proprietor of the Hillview.

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

found her first home at the Hillview in 1923. Parsons, Louella
"Real life story of Clara Bow" (16 parts)
'' The San Antonio Light'', The Hillview eventually slipped into obscurity and went into ruin. The building was occupied by tenants until it suffered structural damage during the

1994 Northridge earthquake The 1994 Northridge earthquake was a moment 6.7 (), blind thrust earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 4:30:55 a.m. PST in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The quake had a duration of approximately ...

and later, the construction of the subway tunnel. A fire occurred in early 2002, and was refurbished. The building was restored and completely redone in 2005-2006 with new kitchens, marble counter tops, washer dryers in each unit and refurbished elevators. In October 2009 the corporation that owns the Hollywood Hillview Apartments filed for bankruptcy, and the historic Hollywood Hillview was forced into foreclosure. The basement lounge club, the restaurant, and the gym have been closed since January 2009. The name was also changed to The Hudson Apartments. In July 2010 Hollywood real estate investment group CIM purchased the building out of foreclosure for $13,000,000. In October 2021, Adolfo Suaya sold ''The Hillview'' for $19.2 million, as a 53-unit dwelling, to ''True Urban USA'' and ''JCI Development''.

References

External links

* Investment Offering Brochure - Lee and Associates Los Angeles West, Inc. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hillview Landmarks in Los Angeles Culture of Los Angeles Culture of Hollywood, Los Angeles Apartment buildings in Los Angeles Buildings and structures in Hollywood, Los Angeles