Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel


The luxurious Roosevelt Hotel opened its doors in 1927 to cater to the members of the Los Angeles, California movie industry. During that time period, if you wanted to see any movie stars, the Roosevelt Hotel Hollywood was the place to do it. Although it was named for Theodore Roosevelt, it was financed by a wealthy group of Hollywood actors including Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Louis B. Mayer. The cost to build the hotel was around $2.5 million in the late 1920s, so you can see that it was quite an expensive undertaking.

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Once it was completed, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel was the place for celebrities to be seen. This hotel hosted plenty of opening night galas as well as many important events in Hollywood. Actually, the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929 was held in the Blossom Ballroom of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

The Hollywood Roosevelt has 12 stories and contained 302 rooms and suites. The hotel experienced a restoration in 1983 that ran $240 million. The end result is that it now has 335 luxury rooms. This hotel enjoys a prime location in the center of Hollywood right across the street from Mann’s Chinese Theater with the celebrated Hollywood Walk of Fame at its front door on Hollywood Boulevard.

Is the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Haunted?

Consider that haunted places have that reputation for a reason. There are many famous people that passed some time in the Roosevelt Hotel during their lives before they moved on to the afterlife. These people are still spotted in spirit form from time to time in the rooms that they stayed in while at the hotel.

Reported Hauntings in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

One of the most famous ghosts at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is the very glamorous and sexy Marilyn Monroe. Just following her rise to fame as a model, Marilyn lived at the hotel for 2 years. She was in Suite 1200, which overlooked the swimming pool. There was a full-length mirror in her room that was later moved to the office of the hotel manager. One day, an employee of the hotel was dusting the mirror and found Marilyn Monroe’s face looking right back at her out of the mirror. Now this same mirror can be found in the hotel lobby where guests and visitors of the hotel occasionally catch of glimpse of Marilyn when looking in the mirror.

Another famous celebrity that spent time at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel was Montgomery Clift. While he was filming the movie “From Here to Eternity,” Room 928 was his home. People have seen his ghost pacing in the hallway outside of the room he stayed in practicing his lines. He’s also been spotted in the hallway playing his bugle. Guests that have stayed in this room often notice a ghostly presence and have even felt pats on their shoulders. Lots of hotel employees feel a blast of cold air when they’re on the 9th floor in the vicinity of his room.

Another cold spot turns up consistently in the hotel’s Blossom Ballroom. This is unusual because there aren’t any vents for air conditioners or any other things that may cause drafts in that area. There’s a circle that’s around 30 inches in diameter that’s at least 10 degrees colder than any other part of the room. The spirit of a man dressed in black has also been seen in this ballroom.

Psychic Investigation at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Renowned psychic Peter James was asked to investigate the paranormal activities in the hotel in 1992. He was able to detect Montgomery Clift’s ghost in Room 928 and, in the Tropicana Bar, the presence of Marilyn Monroe was strongly sensed. Near the elevator, Peter felt Humphrey Bogart’s presence and noted Carmen Miranda on the 3rd floor in the hall. The Blossom Room revealed Edward Arnold and Betty Grable. Peter left the hotel feeling that it was, indeed, haunted.

As for the reason it’s haunted, there’s a theory floating around that these ghosts started appearing after the renovations were completed. Those 1983 renovations seem to have certainly stirred things up. Maybe they stirred them up a bit too much and the ghosts are protesting.

Visit Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Ghosts

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is still open for guests today. You can reserve a room there and go see for yourself what you think about ghosts also being in residence. It may be that you’ll come away with a completely different view of such things.



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