Central Holding
In the months immediately before the stock market crash in October 1929, William Hay sold the Garden of Alla to Central Holding Corporation, a syndicate of Los Angeles businessmen who invested in the city’s entertainment economy. Central Holding made immediate improvements including adding additional villas and installing kitchenettes and dinettes in all the units.
The company also announced plans to demolish everything on the property in order to build a luxury hotel complex, featuring a 300-room high-rise, a low-rise retail and residential building with rooftop cafes and a theater. The launch of the new Garden of Allah would coincide with the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
The new Garden was never built, of course. Beyond villa upgrades and possible excavation in the parking lot, none of the ambitious plans materialized. The most enduring change was cosmetic. Corporate executives changed the hotel’s name to “Garden of Allah,” adding an “h” to Alla’s name and adopting a vaguely Arabic font.
Here’s an aerial view of the neigbhorbood around The Garden of Allah in the early 1930s. A remarkable number of luxury apartment buildings from that era are still standing today – all except the Garden itself.
