| Security Trust and Savings | |
| Nocat: | yes |
| Nrhp Type: | nrhp |
| Refnum: | 83001204 |
| Nrhp Type2: | cp |
| Partof: | Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District |
| Partof Refnum: | 85000704 |
| Location: | 6381–6385 W. Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, California |
| Coordinates: | 34.1025°N -118.3283°W |
| Built: | 1921 |
| Architect: | John and Donald Parkinson |
| Architecture: | Italian Renaissance revival |
| Designated Nrhp Type: | August 18, 1983 |
| Designated Nrhp Type2: | April 4, 1985 |
| Designated Other1: | LAHCM |
| Designated Other1 Number: | 334 |
Security Trust and Savings, also known as Security Trust, Security Pacific Bank, Security Bank Building, and Cahuenga Building, is a historic seven-story office building on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It is notable for its architecture, its history with Hollywood, and its association with fictional detective Phillip Marlowe.
Security Trust and Savings was built in 1921 and upon opening was the tallest building in Hollywood.[1] It features Italian Renaissance revival architecture and was designed by John and Donald Parkinson,[2] [3] who also designed some of the Los Angeles's most notable landmarks, including Union Station and the Memorial Coliseum.[4]
Originally the Hollywood branch of the six-location Security Trust and Savings Bank,[5] this location was considered "a power center of the entertainment industry", with clients that included Charlie Chaplin, the Three Stooges, Lana Turner, W.C. Fields, Cecil B. DeMille, Howard Hughes, and more.[3]
In 1982, the building was included in the National Register of Historic Places,[6] and in 1984, the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District was added to the register, with Security Trust listed as a contributing property in the district.[2] [7] In 1987, the building was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #334.[8]
In 2008, Hollywood's Economic Development Committee received two proposals to convert the building into a hotel,[9] and in 2020, the building was bought for $53 million by Onni Group, who plan to preserve it while redeveloping an adjoining property.[10]
This building is widely believed to be the inspiration for the Cahuenga Building, a fictional building that housed the office of Philip Marlowe, the hardboiled detective featured in a number of Raymond Chandler's stories. Additionally, The Brasher Doubloon, a film adaption of Chandler's The High Window, features this building as that location.[11] The intersection outside this building is named Raymond Chandler Square as a tribute to the belief that Phillip Marlowe's office was located here.[4] [12] [13]
This building's exterior was a common filming location for and can be seen in many Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Charlie Chaplin films.[4]