Images of the Hollywood Studio Club (YWCA), Hollywood, California, by Julia Morgan.

Hollywood Studio Club (YWCA)

Julia Morgan
1925-26

Views of the front from an angle
The Los Angeles YWCA, with Mrs. Cecil B. DeMille as its chairwoman, commissioned this building to house young working women, many of whom aspired to be actresses. "It provided a secure shelter over the years for some ten thousand young woman in the entertainment industry, some of whom, like Ayn Rand and Marilyn Monroe, later achieved fame" (Boutelle 115). This large building, occupying a city block, is comprised of 3 sections--a central section with connecting wings on each side and two end blocks.

The central section
Like many of Morgan's buildings this is generally Mediterannean in style. The entrance is marked by a loggia, three archways and decorative quoins. The central section has a painted frieze. Perhaps this frieze is not original but the 1925 drawing (reproduced in Boutelle 113) shows friezes on both the central section and the gabled end blocks. As Boutelle notes, this building has been threatened with demolition and parts seem in disrepair. See, for example the top register of the central section (far right). Only the capitals remain where there were once pilasters.

The two end blocks from the front and one from the corner
Tile roofs, full-length arched windows, balconies with iron balustrades, decorative brackets--these elements recur in Morgan's Mediterranean style buildings.

Work Cited: Boutelle, Sara Holmes. Julia Morgan Architect. Revised and updated edition. New York: Abbeville Press, 1995.

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Copyright © Mary Ann Sullivan. I have photographed (on site), scanned, and manipulated all the images on these pages. Please feel free to use them for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes.

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Views of the front from an angle The Los Angeles YWCA, with Mrs. Cecil B. DeMille as its chairwoman, commissioned this building to house young working women, many of whom aspired to be actresses. "It provided a secure shelter over the years for some ten thousand young woman in the entertainment industry, some of whom, like Ayn Rand and Marilyn Monroe, later achieved fame" (Boutelle 115). This large building, occupying a city block, is comprised of 3 sections--a central section with connecting wings on each side and two end blocks.


The central section Like many of Morgan's buildings this is generally Mediterannean in style. The entrance is marked by a loggia, three archways and decorative quoins. The central section has a painted frieze. Perhaps this frieze is not original but the 1925 drawing (reproduced in Boutelle 113) shows friezes on both the central section and the gabled end blocks. As Boutelle notes, this building has been threatened with demolition and parts seem in disrepair. See, for example the top register of the central section (far right). Only the capitals remain where there were once pilasters.


The two end blocks from the front and one from the corner Tile roofs, full-length arched windows, balconies with iron balustrades, decorative brackets--these elements recur in Morgan's Mediterranean style buildings.