downtown’s gorgeous new freehand hotel offers …downtown’s gorgeous new freehand hotel offers...
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Downtown’s Gorgeous New Freehand HotelOffers Boutique Amenities For A Hostel Price
By BY OREN PELEG JULY 26, 2017
After more than three years of renovating the historic
Commercial Exchange building, the Sydell Group’s
Freehand hotel is finally open to guests.
The 226-key hotel, at the corner of 8th and Olive
Streets in downtown Los Angeles, offers both shared and
private room. The building, constructed in 1924, had sat
vacant for years before its conversion, but was previously
the first retail location of the Owl Drug Company, and
even housed “Tarzan” author Edgar Rice Burroughs’
publishing company. According to the Los Angeles
Times, when the city decided to widen Olive Street in
the mid-1930s, a 10-foot section from the middle of the
Commercial Exchange building was removed, and the
two remaining sides were pushed together.
With the building’s rebirth as the Freehand Hotel, the
Sydell Group hopes to bridge “the gap between these
two eras to create a conversation between past and
future, layering a modern interpretation of LA’s evolving
urban landscape over meticulously restored interiors.”
The first Freehand opened in Miami in 2012 as an
“upscale hostel,” writes the Miami Herald. A follow-
up Freehand then opened in Chicago in 2015. The
Private room at the Freehand (Photo by Adrian Gaut)
Freehand Los Angeles is the brand’s
first foray into luxury territory with
the incorporation of private superior
rooms and suites. But for the more
economically-minded, hostel-style
shared rooms (bunk beds and all)
allow for rates that are sometimes
hundreds of dollars cheaper than
beds at surrounding hotels.
“The Freehand is designed as a
place for people who want to interact
with other guests and with locals,”
Andrew Zobler, chief executive of the
Sydell Group, which will be opening
The NoMad Hotel later this year
(also in downtown), told the Times.
“It’s set up for people who want to
have experiences as opposed to
people who just want to sleep and
get in and out.”
That experience includes
Rudolph’s Bar in the lobby, along
with a restaurant called The
Exchange, a rooftop pool and bar set
to open in August, and an outpost of
Flowerboy Project, the Venice Beach
flowers-and-wares shop.
The hotel’s interiors were
overseen by firm Roman and
Williams (who decorated both
Freehand Miami and Chicago, as
well as the Standard High Line),
and combines Craftsman and
Midcentury styles to pay homage
to Southern Californian history.
“[Los Angeles is] the perfect place
to embrace the Freehand spirit of
travel and exploration. …[the design
is] a little bohemian and has a lot
of earthiness, and is really inspired
by all of California—from the ocean
to the desert,” Robin Standefer, co-
founder of Roman and Williams, told
LALA magazine.
Top and above: Shared room at the Freehand (Photo by Adrian Gaut)
Meanwhile, a large mural by the
local art collective CYRCLE covers
an opposing wall in the hotel’s
lightwell. The mural highlights iconic
figures like Malcolm X and Barack
Obama—each room will have a
window looking out at the mural,
providing a slightly different view
from each unit.
As the development of downtown
L.A. continues accelerates, the
Freehand should remain as one of
the prime locations to eat, sleep, and
play in the neighborhood, all at the
same time.
The Freehand Hotel is located at
416 West 8th Street in Downtown
Los Angeles. (213) 612-0021.
Current rates are between $84 and
$369, however rates are seasonally
adjusted and subject to availability.
Clockwise from above: The Exchange sign (Photo by Hunter Kerhart); The Exchange at the Freehand; Freehand lobby; Freehand lobby with Rudolph’s bar; Tapestry in the Freehand lobby (Photos by Frank Lee).