Ace Hotel to Open in LA Fashion District

Portland, Ore.–based boutique hotel chain Ace Hotel will open a new location in the heart of the Los Angeles Fashion District in a historic movie theater on Broadway.

The new Ace Hotel is set to open in the former United Artists Theater on Broadway near Ninth Street in summer 2013.

The 12-story office building and 1,600-square-foot theater opened in 1927 on a site chosen by Mary Pickford, according to the Los Angeles Historic Theater Foundation. At the time, Pickford was the biggest Hollywood star in the world and one of the founders of United Artists, the first independent film studio, founded in 1919. Pickford’s partners in the endeavor were her husband, Douglas Fairbanks; Charlie Chaplin; and director D.W. Griffith.

Ace operates hotels in Portland, Seattle, New York and Palm Springs, Calif. The 180-room hotel site will feature a pool, restaurant, bar and 1,600-seat theater.

Connecticut hotel investor Greenfield Partners bought the property last fall for $11 million from Wescott Christian Center Inc., which had been operating a church at the site for many years.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar told the Los Angeles Times,“This is really a shot in the arm for the Bringing Back Broadway initiative. We’ve been talking about getting a boutique hotel here, and now we have one with a brand name.”

The Bringing Back Broadway Initiative is an ambitious plan to revitalize L.A.’s historic theater district—including reopening the vacant theaters on Broadway and bringing more retail, parking and transit options to the area.—Alison A. Nieder