Description

Most of the buildings on or near Pershing Square were built in the 1920’s and early 1930’s, including the Biltmore Hotel, on the Southwest corner of 5th St. and Olive St. At the time of its completion it was the largest hotel in Los Angeles with over 1000 rooms.

As you stand in Pershing Square, look toward the intersection of 5th St. and Olive St. to view this grand historic structure. The Biltmore Hotel opened in 1923 at a cost of $7 million. Designed by Schulte and Weaver, the architects of the famed Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, the Biltmore has reddish brick, terra cotta roof tile, cream-colored stone and three towers on the façade that make the building instantly recognizable.

Over the years, the hotel has been refurbished numerous times, with special effort to preserve the murals and ceilings done by Giovanni Battista Smeraldi, whose paintings are also in the Blue Room of the White House.