The Smiley Smile Message Board

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/29/music.capitol.reut/index.html

Very symbolic of the record industry now. Nobody cares.

Well, at least all the offices and stuff are still in there. I'm just glad it wasn't demolished for condos or something.

I'm fairly sure that the exterior of the building is protected as a Hollywood landmark, but anything can happen to the interior.

All I care about are the studios.  Much of Capitol's operation is over in the EMI building now anyway.  Interestingly enough, there was just a heated battle to keep a historic building containing a luggage store on the corner of Hollywood and Vine, just down from the tower, and the building is going to stay.  So there's still a little hope for history among condos.

Speaking of which, how's Western looking these days, Josh?

I just drove by Western today, actually, as I try to do most days...

It looks like they've done some work on the lobby, new furniture, etc.  Beyond that, I have no idea.  The exterior is just as run down looking as ever.

End of another era this week: all the assets of Tower Records are going up for auction to satisfy creditors. Not clear if the name will persist or go extinct.

The interview of VDP outside the store on Sunset in the 76 TV show is a classic!


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6189889

 Nov 7, 2006 3:01 pm US/Pacific

Capital Records Tower Granted Monument Status
(CBS) LOS ANGELES The 13-story cylindrical Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood was granted tentative monument status Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council's Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

Monument status would protect the building's iconic exterior from being altered, although the structure could be used for other purposes.

The city's Cultural Heritage Commission agreed in August that the building should be granted monument status.

The plan will now go before the full City Council for final approval. The celebrated tower, one of the city's most distinctive landmarks and the world's first circular office building, was the recording studio for such music legends as Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and the Beach Boys.

Architect Welton Beckett designed the structure that was built in 1956, just north of the city's storied intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, to serve as the headquarters of what was then the West Coast's most powerful record company.

In 2000, the city came up with $4 million to help renovate the building as part of an effort to head off Capitol's departure from Hollywood.

But earlier this year, EMI Music North America sold the tower for $50 million to Argent Ventures, a New York-based developer. As part of the agreement, the Capitol Records label and Capitol Studios will continue to be housed in the tower.

Curved awnings over the windows and the tall spike emerging from the top of the white building give it the appearance of a stack of vinyl 45s on a record turntable. At night, a blinking light on top spells out "Hollywood" in Morse code.


(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

I think a Museum and recording studios would be great for the building...forget the offices!