Even the Munchkins.

 

It’s the Culver Hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

 

Situate yourself in the six-story Renaissance Revival-style structure built in 1924 to explore Culver City as well as the City of Los Angeles and parts of sprawling Los Angeles County, which includes 87 other cities such as Santa Monica and Beverly Hills.

 

 

A Trip Back in Time
It’s a feeling. A trip back in time with enough conveniences: Large rooms, huge windows, unique theme in each of the 46 rooms. If you fly in from the East Coast, you will feel welcome in this oasis just far enough away from the sprawl of Southern California. The Culver Hotel is situated in a walkable neighborhood in downtown Culver City at 9400 Culver Blvd. This is not a chain hotel of any kind so if it’s ultra-modern you want, look elsewhere.

 

 

Silent Films and Jazz
Instead, if you stay here you will revel in the sense of history from silent films such as The Quiet Man starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara projected onto the lobby wall. Tuesday through Saturday feature Jazz Nights creating a speak-easy vibe where hotels guests can sit up close to the musicians, and feel part of the action.

 

The Culver Hotel joined the Proper Hospitality group – The Collective – in 2022. When she acquired the hotel in 2007, Maya Malick restored it. Vintage furniture, deep colors, fresh flowers, Art Deco lighting, and personalized service draw an eclectic group of patrons from near and far.

 

Make this your home for a couple of days for longer, and you won’t be disappointed.

 

Most nights, the Culver Hotel captures the best things about the Roaring ‘20s. On a recent spring visit, Sylvia & the Rhythm Boys regaled patrons with a repertoire of melodies originally recorded by artists including Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Nat King Cole. Other nights the Teddy Bang Trio, the Izaak Weatherwax Trio, Speakeasy The Band, and Dj Oggy complete the lineup.

 

 

Light Breakfast
Weekday mornings stop in the lobby as there is a light breakfast for guests that includes pastries – blueberry muffins, chocolate croissants, and chocolate coffee cake with drip coffee from 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and Saturday and Sunday mornings from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.

 

 

Walkable Downtown
Downtown Culver City is surprisingly walkable, especially in an area saturated with freeways. The hotel itself is a flatiron building in an area dotted with Art Deco architecture structures such as the Culver Theater. Take in the Henry Culver “A Moment in Time” sculpture depicting the city’s founder, his wife Lillian Roberts Culver, and their daughter, Patricia Culver just steps from the hotel, where Culver reads a newspaper while seated on a metal and wooden bench. There are lots of restaurants, an ice cream store, fountains, and the Culver Steps, 9300 Culver Blvd., a mixed-use retail complex with a restaurant pavilion and Elevated Perch from which to view the area.

 

 

Art in Public Places
While in downtown Culver City, check out Art in Public Places, downtown cultural walking tours that you can take on your own. Stop in City Hall at 9770 Culver Blvd., to inquire about the Art in Public Places booklet. The four-inch by six-inch 80-page red booklet details two walking tours, each with its own fold-out map. Tour One includes the hotel as well as the Lucy and Desi Mural, first painted in 2000, and restored in 2018. It’s a trip down memory lane or an history lesson, depending on when you were born. It depicts Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz of Desilu Studios and the famed television sitcom, I Love Lucy.

 

If entertainment intrigues, stop by Sony Pictures Entertainment at 10202 W. Washington Blvd., where two-hour walking tours Monday through Friday are available for $50 per person; reservations are required. Call (310) 244-TOUR or 8687. Children 12 and older can participate; guests under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

 

Downtown Culver City, itself, is a place to relax, and just experience what is around you. If you want nonstop entertainment, explore beyond the immediate environment.

 

Depending on how long you stay in the area, there are many other things do and see in Southern California, and here we recommend a few:

 

Santa Monica Pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica – 14 minutes by car – is home to Pacific Park, an amusement park where carnival games and food abound. Take in the iconic views of the Ferris wheel, ride the West Coaster, or just browse the handmade crafts or attend one of the local events such as a Talk Through Pier History every second Thursday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Historic Merry-Go-Round Building, 200 Santa Monica Pier, a story-telling session with Pier Executive Director and Historian Jim Harris.

 

The Getty Villa at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades — 20 minutes by car – is a re-created Roman country home where Greek and Roman antiquities abound. Stroll the villa’s largest garden with its reflecting pool, colonnaded walkways, and Pacific Ocean views. Named for J. Paul Getty, the petroleum industrialist, it opened to the public in 1974. Be sure to see Vincent van Gogh’s Irises, 1889, among 130 paintings he completed in that same year.

 

Hours are daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Tuesdays; closed on New Year’s Day, July 4, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day; admission is free but requires a timed entry reservation.

 

The Getty Center at 1200 Getty Center Dr, Los Angeles – 15 minutes by car – features art from the Middle Ages to the present set amid modern architecture and gardens.

 

Admission is free but requires a timed ticket reservation. Regular hours are Tuesday–Friday, Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Mondays. It opened to the public in 1997 on a 110-acre hilltop site in the Santa Monica Mountains.

 

West Hollywood – 24 minutes by car – is actually a separate city within Los Angeles County, just 1.9 square miles situated between Beverly Hills to the west and Hollywood to the northeast. It has a vibe of its own with energy from celebrities, rock ‘n’ roll venues, trendy restaurants, and shopping. Check out the Sunset Tower Hotel at 8358 Sunset Blvd., along the Sunset Strip, on a Saturday night.

 

Rodeo Drive – 16 minutes by car – is a large concentration of upscale shopping and designer clothing and jewelry , so, if it appeals to you, spend some time here. Lined with palm trees, the three-block retail district roughly bounded by Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards.