The Beverly Wilshire Hotel opened in 1928 as the Beverly Wilshire Apartment Hotel, built by real estate developer Walter G. McCarty on the former site of the Beverly Hills Speedway at a time when Beverly Hills had only 1,000 residents and was still largely undiscovered by Hollywood society. Built in an E-shape in the Italian Renaissance style with French neo-classic influences and materials including Italian Carrara marble and Tuscan stone, it was the city’s tallest building and stretched 250 feet along Wilshire Boulevard, with liveried attendants and a 150-car subterranean garage that reflected its luxury. In 1945 McCarty sold the hotel to Arnold Kirkeby, who added the Copa Club Swimming Pool and tennis courts associated with Pancho Gonzales. During the 1950s it gained notoriety as celebrities flocked there, and Elvis Presley lived there for several years while making films at nearby Paramount Studios. In 1961 a group of investors led by Hernando Courtright purchased the hotel, where room rates then ranged from USD 16 to USD 60 for a three-room suite. In the 1970s a new Beverly Wing opened with 12 floors, including style-varied guest floors, duplex townhome suites, and penthouse apartments, along with amenities such as the cobblestone El Camino Real driveway, the Zindabad Pub, and Hernando's Hideaway. Regent International Hotels acquired the Beverly Wilshire in 1985, reduced the Wilshire Wing’s 200 rooms to 147, and in 1986 the hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1990 it served as the central filming location for the movie Pretty Woman, followed by major renovations in 1991 costing more than USD 65 million, and in 1992 it became part of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts family. In the 2000s it added CUT, THEBlvd, and the Spa at Beverly Wilshire, while the Wilshire Wing lobby received a crystal chandelier from the Czech Republic. In the 2010s it introduced Los Angeles’ first Urban Glamping experience, CUT received a Michelin star, the spa became one of only a few Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Spas in Los Angeles, and the penthouse was noted as the city’s largest at 5,000 square feet with a 270-degree view.