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Ovation Hollywood

The center's entrance in December 2006
Coordinates	34°06′08.5″N 118°20′22″W / 34.102361°N 118.33944°W / 34.102361; -118.33944
Address	6801 Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood, California 90028
Opening date	November 9, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-11-09)
Previous names	Hollywood & Highland
Developer	TrizecHahn
Owner	DJM and Gaw Capital
Architect	Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects
No. of stores and services	60
No. of anchor tenants	1 (Dolby Theatre)
Total retail floor area	640,000 sq ft (59,000 m)
No. of floors	5 (retail)
Parking	On-street, parking garage
Public transit access	Hollywood/Highland
Website	ovationhollywood.com

Ovation Hollywood (formerly Hollywood & Highland) is a shopping center and entertainment complex at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States.

The 387,000-square-foot (36,000 m) shopping center also includes the TCL Chinese Theatre, a historic movie palace, and the Dolby Theatre, an auditorium that has been home to the Academy Awards since 2002. The historic site was once the home of the famed Hollywood Hotel. Located in the heart of Hollywood, along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it is among the most visited tourist destinations and shopping complexes in Los Angeles.

The complex sits just across Hollywood Blvd. from the El Capitan Theatre and offers views of the Hollywood Hills and Hollywood Sign to the north, Santa Monica Mountains to the west and downtown Los Angeles to the southeast. The centerpiece of the complex is a massive three-story courtyard inspired by the Babylon scene from the D.W. Griffith film Intolerance. The developer of the shopping center built parts of the archway and two pillars with elephant sculptures on the capitals, just as seen in the film, to the same full scale. It gives visitors an idea of how large the original set must have been.

The center has more than 70 shops and 25 restaurants. Major retail tenants that face Hollywood Boulevard include American Eagle Outfitters, Forever 21, and Sephora. The complex also houses a Lucky Strike Lanes bowling alley, and a nightclub. The complex also houses 65,000 square feet (6,000 m) of gathering spaces including the Grand Ballroom, used for the Oscars Governors Ball. Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck operates his regional headquarters out of the complex. The center also includes television broadcast facilities that in 2004 included the studios for the daily talk show On Air With Ryan Seacrest. Currently, the studio is home to Revolt TV.

The 637-room Loews Hollywood Hotel is also part of the site. The Metro B Line's Hollywood/Highland station is beneath the structure. Also, Metro Local lines 212, 217, 222, 237, 656 and Metro Rapid 780 serve the complex.

Site history

The site was the location of the 1902 Hollywood Hotel, in which many celebrities stayed in the early days of Hollywood. The hotel was demolished in August 1956 and, despite initial plans for a high-rise hotel and a department store on the site, it was replaced by the twelve-story First Federal Building of the First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Hollywood; a shopping center; and parking lots. These stood until 1998.

Redevelopment

Developed by TrizecHahn and with funds from the Community Redevelopment Agency, the complex opened as Hollywood & Highland after three years of construction in November 2001.

The project was an example of joint development, in which a public agency leases the right to develop a parcel in exchange for improvements to the property, in this case, an enhanced portal to the Hollywood/Highland Metro B Line station and a 3,000 space underground parking lot. TrizecHahn leased 1.35 acres (5,500 m) of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority land for 55 years at a rate of $492,000 per year (with additional increases added every five years based on the Consumer Price Index) and four 11-year optional extensions.

Leading up to the construction of the development the City of Los Angeles was persuaded, through its Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), to contribute at least $90 million in 1998 toward the site's initial construction. This was in addition to the costs of constructing the Red Line subway station below the mall.

Trizec Properties sold its interest in the development for over $200 million in 2004 to CIM Group. CIM rebranded Hollywood & Highland and repositioned the center with higher-end tenants. In 2005, the center underwent renovations to add additional features such as escalators leading visitors from Hollywood Boulevard directly to the third floor of the central courtyard, new signage, and new stores.

In 2019, real estate investment firms DJM Capital Partners, Inc. and Gaw Capital partnered and purchase the mall for $325 million. They announced plans for a major renovation to include both rebranding and upgrading the retail levels and courtyard, adding office space in the upper floors, and removal of the Babylon themed decor. The renovations on this complex began work in 2020. The renovated complex was then renamed and rebranded to Ovation Hollywood in 2022.

Controversy and criticism

The complex opened in 2001 with a conditional use permit that enabled, among other things, for the center to have special exemptions of Los Angeles billboard ordinances. Despite objections of some residents and neighbors, in 2002 this agreement was amended and extended for an additional 20 years. L.A. City Councilman Eric Garcetti, who then represented the Hollywood-area district and was elected mayor in 2013, supported extending this special permit.

The design of the center has been criticized by multiple reporters and journalists. In 2007, Curbed L.A., an online magazine, named Hollywood & Highland the "winner" of their Ugliest Building in Los Angeles contest. In selecting Hollywood & Highland, they cited its aesthetics, pedestrian unfriendliness (including the lack of storefronts on the side facing Highland Ave.), confusing circulation, and "mish-mash of architectural styles".

Impact

The center played a significant role in attracting development to other parts of Hollywood Boulevard. The TV Guide Hollywood Center (formerly owned by CIM Group) across the street reconstructed the ground floor and has attracted new tenants.

References

1. Hollywood & Highland Map
2. "Shopper's Guide to Hollywood & Highland". January 18, 2016.
3. "About the Center". hollywoodandhighland.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
4. "Hollywood & Highland Center Map" (PDF). hollywoodandhighland.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
5. metro.net | Transit Services and Information for Los Angeles County
6. "Major Project's Plan". Los Angeles Times. April 29, 1956.
7. "Architectural rendering of the Hollywood Center planned to replace the Hollywood Hotel at Hollywood BLVD and Highland Ave, Herald Examiner Aug. 25, 1949 |". March 2019.
8. "First Federal", Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
9. metro.net | Transit Services and Information for Los Angeles County
10. Boxall, Bettina (April 11, 1998). "L.A. Plans to Chip In $90 Million for Oscars Theater Complex". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
11. Diamond, Jonathan (December 20, 2004). "Year in review: Disney, for one, is happy to see 2004 end, but real estate brokers wish time..." Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
12. Vincent, Roger (February 28, 2004). "Trizec Completes Sale of Multiuse Complex". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
13. "New Owners of Hollywood & Highland Center Plan Renovation". August 6, 2019.
14. "Hollywood & Highland is getting a big makeover that includes turning stores into offices". Los Angeles Times. August 5, 2020.
15. "Hollywood & Highland makes name change official just in time for the Oscars". bizjournals.com. March 22, 2022.
16. McGreevy, Patrick (September 21, 2002). "City Extends Hollywood-Highland Pact". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
17. jwilliams (April 17, 2007). "Here It Is... Your Ugliest Building Winner". Curbed LA. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
18. "Shopper's Guide To Hollywood & Highland". KCBS-TV. January 18, 2016.

External links

• Official website

• Landmarks in Los Angeles
• Shopping malls in Central Los Angeles
• Shopping malls established in 2001
• Buildings and structures in Hollywood, Los Angeles
• Tourist attractions in Los Angeles
• Hollywood Boulevard
• 2001 establishments in California