Blaze erupts at Hollywood and Vine
LOS ANGELES (AP) - April 30, 2008 The one-story building, built in the 1920s or '30s, is now home
to the Basque Nightclub & Restaurant, but it was not open at the
time, firefighters said. Lindsay Lohan celebrated her 21st birthday
at the club and Kanye West partied there just last week.
Councilman Tom LaBonge said he was hiking near the Griffith Park
Observatory at 5:45 a.m. when he saw the fire erupt a few miles
away. "I saw what looked like an orange meteor busting through the
roof ... a half moon of orange glow."
The fire was knocked down by 8 a.m., Battalion Chief Mario Rueda
said at a news conference in front of the charred club.
The corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street was a mecca
for stars and fans in Hollywood's Golden Era when many nightclubs
were nearby. The famed art deco Pantages Theatre and the
1950s-vintage Capitol Records Building - shaped like a stack of
discs - are just a short distance away.
Hollywood likes to call it the world's "most famous
intersection in the most famous neighborhood." Stars immortalized
in the Walk of Fame at the corner include James Stewart, James
Dean, Judy Garland, Deborah Kerr and Slim Whitman.
Many of the buildings in the area have been renovated and
restored in recent years.
The building has been a Howard Johnson's restaurant, a nightclub
called Deep, a music studio and other businesses through the years.
Matt Damon played cards in the building (when it was Deep) for
scenes in the movie "Ocean's Eleven," LaBonge said.
Four businesses were damaged - the nightclub, a tattoo parlor, a
beauty supply company and a vacant shoe store, Battalion Chief
Ronnie Villanueva said. The extent of the losses were not
immediately available.
Firefighters were lucky the fire took place so early and engines
could get through the streets traditionally clogged with tourists,
he said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation and arson
specialists were at work, Villanueva said.
Arriving firefighters were in the building for 15 minutes before
they were ordered out because a massive billboard and air
conditioning units on the nightclub roof were sagging.
"It was a hairy moment," Rueda said. Firefighters then fought
the fire from the outside.
