Hollywood and Western

I've driven past this building on Western so many times, and idly wondered about it, and then the lights have changed, and I've forgotten quickly about my musings.  But today I was opposite it, in stationary traffic, for what seemed like an age ...

The Hollywood Western, also known as the Mayer Building, opened in late 1928: it's a very Greek version of Art Deco, with the little friezes and the heads at the top of the building.  It had some great tenants!  It was the first home of the Motion Picture Association of America, of Central Casting, and of the Hays Office (who regulated the movie industry, especially around sexually explicit conduct, so the government didn't try and impose codes).  Hollywood Billiards, Hollywood's oldest pool hall, was located in the lower basement - and all kinds of firms have been there over the years, with it clearly heading down a declining path: by the 1970s it was a heavy metal band rehearsal space and was used to produce porn.  And then it was badly damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and then was vacant before slowly, slowly coming back to life as office space (Adam Schiff's office is there) and it's now being converted into apartments, with a fair number of these being low-income senior apartments.  

I didn't find all of this out while waiting at the lights, of course,  but I now have a much better idea what I've been looking at all these years.