The Sportsmen's Lodge is a defunct hotel located on

Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley as it is along the commem ...

Studio City, Los Angeles, California Studio City is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1 ...

. Operating under various names (including "Hollywood Trout Farms") since the 1880s, the Sportsmen's Lodge is a

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

landmark and remains a popular spot for celebrations, dinners and public events. Located in the heart of the Valley's studio district, the Sportsmen's Lodge was a popular gathering spot for cast and crew in old Hollywood, including

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

Lauren Bacall Betty Joan Perske (September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014), professionally known as Lauren Bacall ( ), was an American actress. She was named the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the America ...

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the ...

and

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

. The hotel closed in 2020 as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Early days

The original Sportsmen's Lodge opened in the 1880s before the movie business existed and before Studio City had its name. A history of Studio City published by the ''Studio City Sun'' describes the Lodge as an "enduring symbol of lost rural Valley life." The ''Sun'' notes that the site has had many owners since the 1880s but was "always a geographic crossroads for travelers because of its proximity to the

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

, the canyons, and watering holes created by a natural artesian spring." In the days before freeways were built across the Valley, "all traffic passed along

’s two dirt lanes in the sparsely populated Valley, and 'when people were starting to take

road trip A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance Travel, journey traveled by a car or a motorcycle. History First road trips by automobile The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by the automobile took place in German Em ...

s, this was an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment In the first half of the 20th century, the Sportsmen's Lodge was known for its

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

-fishing lake where families came to catch and eat their own dinners, cooked courtesy of the lodge's restaurant. In the 1910s, the Lodge was called "Hollywood Trout Farms" and was described as "a ramshackle collection of huts." The ponds were augmented with man-made lakes in the 1920s, and fish were grown and delivered from as far as

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

and

San Luis Obispo ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

. From the late 1930s until the end of World War II, it was known as "Trout Lakes".

Hollywood hangout

The Sportsmen's Lodge became the place to hang out for cast and crew members working at the nearby

Republic Studios Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

. The heart of Republic Studios was its B-westerns, and many western-film leads, including

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

Rex Allen Rex Elvie Allen Sr. (December 31, 1920 – December 17, 1999), known as "The Arizona Cowboy", was an American film and television actor, singer and songwriter; he was also the narrator of many Disney nature and Western productions. For his cont ...

, and

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer. Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...

, became stars at Republic. Movie posters signed by Hollywood cowboys who stayed there still hang on the walls of the Lodge's coffee shop. Some of Hollywood's remaining silver screen cowboys still gather at the Sportsmen's Lodge for the annual Golden Boot and Silver Spur Awards. Bette Davis in All About Eve trailer

In 1945, the property was renamed the Sportsmen's Lodge, and a formal restaurant and cocktail lounge were added. Guests were given rods and bait to catch their fish and make dinner.

and

are reported to have taught their kids how to fish at the Lodge's trout ponds. According to one account, the Lodge's trout ponds "drew luminaries such as

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lifeboat (194 ...

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

, Bette Davis, and

Joan Blondell Rose Joan Blondell (August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on a film career, estab ...

, who baited hooks with

liverwurst Liverwurst, leberwurst, or liver sausage is a kind of sausage made from liver (food), liver. It is eaten throughout Europe, as well as North and South America, notably in Argentina and Chile. Some liverwurst varieties are spreadable. Liverwurst ...

and drank martinis as waiters served dinner on white tablecloths. When celebrities such as Clark Gable frequented the Lodge, rates were $9 for a single room and $25 for a suite. A small pier adjacent to the restaurant catered to celebrities who worked in nearby studios. The pier was said to be Clark Gable's favorite fishing spot, and Humphrey Bogart and

were regulars. Syndicated entertainment columnist Ron Miller wrote that the "venerable" Sportsmen's Lodge was his favorite Valley hangout. Miller wrote about the old days at the Lodge when character actor

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villaino ...

had a luxury suite on the top floor while working on the movie "Easy Street". Miller recalled that Elam was a drinking man and "mornings were not his best time." On one occasion, Elam walked into the Lodge's coffee shop with a bewildered look on his face. "He'd forgotten where he'd parked his car the night before because he'd had a snootful. I remember him telling the waitresses he was pretty sure it was parked, 'Somewhere in the valley.'" According to Miller, one "well-seasoned" waitress coddled Elam through breakfast and assured him: "That's all right, Darlin'. We'll help you find it after breakfast. Now you'd better eat something, Jack." As the San Fernando Valley grew in the years after World War II, the urban sprawl sprung up around the Sportsmen's Lodge and its trout fishing lakes. In 1962, the modern Sportsmen's Lodge Hotel was built adjacent to the original lodge. When the hotel was built, the lakes became home to a family of swans and some of the Valley's first fine dining establishments, frequented by legendary Hollywood stars. According to the ''Studio City Sun'', the Los Angeles Health Department ended the era of fishing at the Lodge when the

1971 San Fernando earthquake The 1971 San Fernando earthquake (also known as the 1971 Sylmar earthquake) occurred in the early morning of February 9 in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California. The unanticipated thrust earthquake had a magnitude o ...

diverted the natural spring.

Connections to the entertainment business

Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in Adams Rib trailer

The Sportsmen's Lodge has a long history of celebrity guests. In a 2007 article on "Where the A-listers lay low," Newscorp described the Sportsmen's Lodge as "a pleasant and unpretentious establishment." General manager Steve Scheck noted, "There are always some stars who need to stay at the most expensive, fanciest places, but others just want to be comfortable, relaxed and feel at home."

and

were visitors, and former Beach Boy

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

reportedly likes to lounge by the Olympic pool. Other celebrities known to have stayed or hung out at the Sportsmen's Lodge include

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 17 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, five for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albums have reached number one on ...

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker, singer and songwriter. He received international attention after writing, directing and starring in the independent film, independent Drama (film and television), drama f ...

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country and gospel music singer and songwriter, as well as a film and television actor. Active since 1979, he has recorded over 20 studio albums and ...

, and

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American country singer. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single "She's in Love with the Boy", which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Country Songs ...

. For several years, noted salsa promoter Albert Torres operated a salsa club at the Sportsmen's Lodge that was frequented by celebrities including

Vanessa L. Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, model, producer and dancer. She gained recognition as the first Black woman to win the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She would later res ...

and

Randa Haines Randa Jo Haines (born February 20, 1945, in Los Angeles) is an American film and television director and producer. Haines started her career as a script supervisor on several low-budget features in the 1970s, including '' Let's Scare Jessica to ...

Later years and closure

The Sportsmen's Lodge remained a popular location for events, dining and lodging. Motion pictures and TV shows were occasionally shot around the waterfalls, lagoons, lily ponds, swans and gazebos, and recording stars and their entire road crews would regularly stay. One writer noted of the Lodge: "It's unexpected, finding a mountain chalet bar complete with massive stone fireplace, antique wooden snow-skis, log-beamed ceilings, and moose antlers here in the midst of strip malls and suburbia. But this is Hollywood's back yard, why not enjoy a hunting lodge right off

?" According to Los Angeles City Search, the hotel "isn't nearly as fun as it once was, utit's still a peaceful place with lots of character." The hotel underwent renovations, a process that one writer said "robbed it of some of its goofy charm." Nevertheless, the spacious rooms overlooking an Olympic-size heated pool in the courtyard, the old-fashioned Patio Cafe and neighboring Caribou restaurant and Muddy Moose Bar remained popular. LosAngeles.com said, "This contemporary Los Angeles hotel sits on of gorgeous landscaped grounds, featuring waterfalls, California native plants and beautiful wildlife, including swans and other waterbirds. Tons of celebrities ... and top execs in the entertainment industry have frequented this luxurious Studio City hotel." The Sportsmen's Lodge closed to the public in early 2020 as a result of the

. It was used to shelter unhoused residents with the state's Project Roomkey project until July 24, 2020, when it permanently closed.

Efforts to secure historical site designation

In the early 2000s, efforts were taken to secure protected historical status for the Sportsmen's Lodge. In 2002, the Studio City Residents Association, backed by the

Los Angeles Conservancy The Los Angeles Conservancy is a historic preservation organization in Los Angeles, California that works to document, rescue and revitalize historic buildings, places and neighborhoods in the city. The Los Angeles Conservancy is the largest m ...

, submitted an application to designate the Lodge's banquet center as a Historic-Cultural Monument. The Conservancy featured the Sportsmen's Lodge as one of just a handful of docent-led stops on its driving tours of the San Fernando Valley—an event that attracted 1,000 tour-goers and won national media attention. The Cultural Heritage Commission approved the historic designation and sent it on to the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the Legislature, lawmaking body for the Government of Los Angeles, city government of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States. It has 15 members who each represent the 15 city council ...

. However, the proposal was opposed by City Councilman

Jack Weiss Jack Stephen Weiss (born August 21, 1964) is an American entrepreneur and former politician. He is co-founder of BlueLine Grid alongside William Bratton and David Riker and is a former member of the Los Angeles City Council representing the 5th ...

, who said that "he does not know anyone who considers Sportsmens Lodge to be significant." The Conservancy responded to Weiss by noting that the Sportsmen's Lodge, "while not an architectural wonder, has long been considered a site that epitomizes the story of the San Fernando Valley itself -- as a site whose evolving uses, from rural to urban, mirrored the Valley's growth; as a roadside attraction to the Valley's vibrant automobile culture; as one of the Valley's earliest and most significant 'fine dining' locations; and as a site that has reflected this community's unique connection to the entertainment industry." Efforts to obtain some protected status for the Lodge are ongoing.

Redevelopment plans

In 2021, Midwood Investment and Development, the owners of Sportsmen's Lodge, announced plans to demolish the hotel and build a 520 unit apartment complex in its place with additional retail to complement the Shops at Sportsmen's Lodge.

Notes

External sources

* {{Coord, 34, 08, 44, N, 118, 24, 45, W, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-CA Landmarks in Los Angeles Studio City, Los Angeles Hotels in Los Angeles Recreational fishing Buildings and structures in the San Fernando Valley