Hayward Paint Removal Reveals a Shiny Exterior
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
A close-up shows the old brown paint and the cream-colored finish underneath.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Another phase of the ongoing renovation to the exterior of the Hayward Hotel kicked off this week, with sidewalk protection erected and a crew put to work removing paint from the building's 1918 Spring street addition.
Underneath the flat brown paint is a shiny, cream-colored finish. When talking to Eric Shomof of building owner Pacific Investments a few weeks back, he said that the finish was in good shape, though lots of work was involved in cleaning it off.
Given the pace of work over the last few days, the paint removal should take another week or two.
M a r c on June 25, 2008, at 11:28PM – #1
DANG! I just walked past there and didn't notice...granted it was dark. These are the kinds of restorations that downtown needs. I'm impressed...!
Kim Cooper on June 26, 2008, at 03:20PM – #2
Oh, no! That's a pretty cream-colored facade, sure, but the chocolate brown paint stands as a memorial for the two candy salesmen who died in a terrible accident at the Hayward in December 1929. This is a story I tell on Esotouric's Hotel Horrors bus tour.
Seem a group of four candy salesmen were amusing themselves late in the evening in Room 922. Gregory Woodford of Inglewood and J.A. Pursley of Portland were sitting on the window sill when Woodford told a joke, then slapped Pursley on the chest to better promote the punchline. Pursley lost his balance and grabbed wildly for the curtains. As he fell backward, his foot came up under the joker’s knee, and Woodford too pitched backwards. They fell out the window before the horrified gaze of their pals, fell 7 stories through a skylight, crushing a potted palm before landing on the steel roof. Woodford was killed instantly, and Pursley, a newlywed of six weeks standing, soon died. In the room, police found a pint of liquor, scarcely touched. They ruled it an accident.
Scott Mercer on June 26, 2008, at 09:11PM – #3
Okay, Kim, so now it's white chocolate colored. Or maybe peppermint.
Dan in LA on July 01, 2008, at 05:47PM – #4
OK, So let's get See's Candies or Godiva to open a store front store in the Hayward!!!
hayward resident on July 01, 2008, at 11:00PM – #5
Has anyone seen the rooftop at the hayward?
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on July 02, 2008, at 07:36AM – #6
I've looked down on it from Premiere. They did much of the same stuff on your roof as they've done on ours. It looks like a nice place.