Place

The MacArthur

Sculptural sentries stand guard atop this MacArthur Park landmark.

Place Details

Address

607 S. Park View St. Los Angeles, CA 90057
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Decade

Rising eleven stories above Westlake Park, this grand concrete structure was a private retreat for the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, which once numbered thousands and included L.A.'s wealthy and powerful. The building contained 169 hotel rooms along with a gymnasium, pool, and bowling alley. 

Designed as a memorial to World War I soldiers, the exterior features stylized Assyrian friezes, sculpted figures in military uniform, and massive cast stone warrior angels guarding the plinth and tower at every corner.

The lavish interior features an arched ceiling painted by famed muralist Anthony Heinsbergen, who purposely undercut the competition bidding for the job and toiled on his back while painting, like Michelangelo. Heinsbergen later claimed that he rarely bothered with self-promotion again.

The rich and famous who attended Lodge parties or masonic rights all saw his handiwork and requested Heinsbergen murals for their homes and businesses across Los Angeles. Below these murals hangs an ornate chandelier depicting Zodiac signs, and symbolic wrought ironwork surrounds the grand entrance.

The Elks sold the lodge in the 1960s as its membership diminished. The building has served as a YMCA, a retirement hotel, a venue for punk rock bands, and the Park Plaza Hotel. Its recently refurbished ballrooms, halls, and enormous foyer make it one of the most filmed locations in Los Angeles.

Photo by Hunter Kerhart | Photo by Hunter Kerhart
Security Pacific Collection/Los Angeles Public Library | Staircase in Elks Club lobby
Tom Zimmerman Photography
Tom Zimmerman Photography | c. 1925.
Conservancy Archives | Detail of Elks Club (Now Park Plaza Hotel)
Padilla Studios, Security Pacific Collection/Los Angeles Public Library
Conservancy Archives | 1980s.
Robert Greene/Conservancy Archives | Elks Club Lodge Room
Conservancy Archives
Anne Laskey | 1980s.
Anne Laskey | Angel atop Elks Club (Now Park Plaza Hotel)
Anne Laskey
Anne Laskey | 1980s.
Anne Laskey | Elk detail above main entrance
Hunter Kerhart
Hunter Kerhart | Elks Club Building
Hunter Kerhart
Hunter Kerhart | Elks Club Building 2005.
Hunter Kerhart | Detail
Hunter Kerhart | 2005.
Hunter Kerhart | Detail
Hunter Kerhart | 2005.