Rosslyn Hotel Annex

Art by: Chris Hytha

Story by: Mark Houser

Nine years after they opened their 13-story Hotel Rosslyn, brothers George and Dwight Hart added this nearly identical annex across the street. That brought the total number of guest rooms to 1,100, more than any other hospitality property on the West Coast. In case anyone wasn’t paying attention, the Harts topped their twin hotel buildings with huge electric signs emblazoned with their logo, a heart.

The brothers’ parents were Ohio farmers who came to Los Angeles during a speculative land boom in the 1880s. Their father managed the Natick Hotel in town, and they took over after his premature death. Later they bought an old hotel called the Rosslyn, which they would soon replace with a mammoth complex by the city’s preeminent architectural firm to handle the streams of tourists pouring into sunny southern California.

Both properties were linked by a marble-lined underground corridor so guests wouldn’t have to dodge traffic on Fifth Street when walking to the dining rooms or main reception desk. Converted recently into affordable housing for homeless veterans, the annex has had its lobby partially restored with its decorative metallic friezes and molding, marble reception desk, and attractive wrought iron skylight.