The Most Historic Hollywood Landmark Not In Hollywood

While driving betwixt the Frozen North, and Home in Hollywood, I decided to stop for lunch at my favorite restaurant in Chinatown, in SF. While there, I simpy HAD to check out the scene of the non-crime, the very room where Roscoe Arbuckle DID NOT RAPE ANYONE. Ste 1221-1223 of the St. Francis Hotel.

To my thrill, that part of the h0tel has never been remodled. I could tell the big heavy doors could have been no newer than 1920. It's had paint and carpet and that's all. Nice to see a city preserve their Hollywood Landmarks apropriately. I wish Hollywood would!

(And gutting an Historic building to turn it into some gauche club is not preservation, its vandalism. Just because you bought an indulgance from the council, doesn't make it anything but what it is).

Louella Parsons

August 7, 1921

NEW YORK TELEGRAPH

Roscoe Arbuckle has lost eight pounds. The hot weather in Chicago did it, assisted by the row he had with the waiter at the Congress Hotel.

Fatty Philosophizes on Taylor Case

Feb 17th, 1921

Jack Jungmeyer

LOS ANGELES RECORD

"The American public is ardent in its hero worship and quite asruthless in destroying its idols in any walk of life. "It elevates a man more quickly than any nation in the world, and castshim down more quickly--quite often on surmise or a mere hunch. "This latter disposition so curiously at variance with the American tradition and ideal of justice is just now being driven home particularly tothe motion picture people of Los Angeles on the heels of Billy Taylor'smysterious murder." Such was the comment today by "Fatty" Arbuckle on one aftermath angleof the noted picture director's assassination in his home here on the nightof February 1. He was decrying certain innuendos cast against WilliamDesmond Taylor, his life and his relationship with women screen stars whosenames have featured the investigations. Arbuckle is back in his West Adams mansion after his second courtordeal in connection with the death of Virginia Rappe in San Francisco. "It is the general inclination, when trouble happens to strike in filmcircles, for the thoughtless to whisper, malign and gossip and to speak withthat mock sagacity of the times of 'the inside dope' and 'the low down,'"continued Arbuckle. "This was brought out quite forcibly in my own case and has beenaccentuated in the case of William Taylor. That I will acquit myself I amquite sure, but poor Billy is not here to defend himself from speculationswhich have no basis in proven fact. "Taylor lived as he died--a square shooter, absolutely on the levelwith his fellow beings, charitable and kind. His death removed from themotion picture industry one of its outstanding characters. To this hundredswho knew him best testify. "And yet, because of that curious and pervading psychology of suspicionto which I have referred, Billy Taylor's name is in many quarters beingsmirched with utter disregard for the facts of his personal and professionallife. "That is far from the dominant trait of our forefathers, who held a maninnocent until proven guilty. And I know the full weight of thisvilification and innuendo because I was a victim of the same campaign. "Never in history, perhaps, have men and women been so quickly elevatedto prominence as have the successful folk in pictures. That is because ofthe millions before whom they appear via the screen almost nightly. Theirnames become household words. Their features widely familiar. They arevirtually next door neighbor to everyone in the land. "The man and woman who thus accepts as worthy of esteem this filmlandneighbor should do himself or herself the moral honor of refusing to accepttattle and shouldershrugs in place of fact--as he undoubtedly would in thecase of his respected physical neighbor."