This is the Beverly Wilshire Hotel just after its completion in 1928, viewed from where the Two Rodeo Drive faux retro shopping center is today. It was built on the land that had once been the Beverly Hills Speedway, and was designed by architects Walker and Eisen, who based the hotel's design on an Italian Renaissance style, using fine marble and elegant archways. It was originally called the Beverly Wilshire Apartment Hotel, and this name stuck until ownership changed hands in the 1940s.
