A Dingy L.A. Dive Becomes a Hip Bar, Hotel, and Music Studio Complex

Once a soundstage for director Ed Wood, a rehearsal space for Guns N’ Roses, and a bikini bar, East Hollywood hub Gold Diggers has been reinvented as a boutique hotel, bar, and recording studio.

Text by

Melissa Dalton

Published by

Dwell

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The site for Gold Diggers has a storied past. The main building was originally built as an "Inn Above a Tavern" in 1924, on Santa Monica Boulevard—aka Route 66. In the 1950s, a 6000-square-foot annex behind the bar served as director Ed Wood’s soundstage, in which he filmed Plan 9 from Outer Space. The ensuing years saw it as a rehearsal destination for all types of bands, including an early incarnation of Guns N' Roses.

In a nod to its history, much of the exterior of Gold Diggers was kept intact, including the vintage signage.

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Inspired by this history, owner Dave Neupert deemed the site the perfect spot to fulfill his dream of creating a hybrid hotel and music campus. "People have told me that the Doors and Jimi Hendrix practiced here, but there are a lot of people with legends about this place I can’t verify," Neupert told the Los Angeles Times. "I can’t wait to find out more about its legacy as a music space. L.A. forgets its past so easily and we really wanted to shine a light on this building."

Led by architect David Wick of Wick Architecture & Design and Tiffany Howell of Night Palm Studio, the renovations finished in 2018, taking music as the main inspiration. Let’s take a tour of the rock-inflected spaces.

The Hotel

The boutique hotel has 11 rooms, each of which contains mattresses from 2920 Sleep and Parachute linens.

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The design team sought to make rooms feel more like apartments, and so included reading nooks and hangout spots throughout, mixing jewel-toned furnishings with vintage finds and rock-and-roll ephemera.

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Large-scale artwork makes a statement throughout the hotel, and the collection includes paintings by Parquet Courts singer Andrew Savage. The bathroom juxtaposes chevron wall tile with a traditionally appointed sink and luxe black stone floor.

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Idiosyncratic decor touches like the "babe" sign balance traditional detailing.

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Music is considered the "fabric of the space." Thus the hotel leaves a vinyl compilation for guests to keep on turned-down beds. The vinyl is a collaboration between Aquarium Drunkard and Vinyl Me, Please, and the tracks will change every season. The wall mural here was painted by Kristi Head.

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The Bar

The revamped bar is open every day and embraces a vintage L.A. aesthetic.

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The interior features brass details, dark wood chevron walls, and tufted leather seating.

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Gold velvet curtains line the stage, which features a DJ or live music nightly, in a selection curated by Justin Gage of Aquarium Drunkard. Gilt chandeliers and textured walls complete the scheme.

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The Recording Complex

The recording complex, Gold Diggers Sound, boasts nine state-of-the-art recording studios, a multiuse sound stage, kitchenettes and lounge areas, and is available for 24/7 access.

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Per the website, the revamped sound stage is located in the back of Ed Woods' old space and would be ideal for private events, screenings, live broadcasts, and AV production.

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The recording studio complex is a partnership with Kingsize Soundlabs.

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Find Gold-Diggers at 5632 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90038. Room rates start at just under $200.