The Design of the Cavalier Hotel reminds me of another local Ed Fickett project in West Hollywood the Hollywood Riviera. The hotel was demolished in 1980 by CD Invest Co. to make way for the planned 160 unit apartment building the Park Wilshire.

Construction started in 1981, but the project got off to a rocky start because that year was the Wilshire corridor condo bust.  Like the Blair house, construction halted in 1983 leaving the building incomplete. The exterior concrete and the internal mechanicals were finished, but nothing else. The building was nicknamed “Dusty” because the concrete had a grey color that looked like the color of dust. Dusty went along with The Blair house’s “Rusty”.

CD Invest Co was purchased out of receivership by Stanley R Castleton of Sun Cal Properties/ Stanwill Cos, an Orange County distressed asset real estate investor in 1984. Stanwill Cos hired Barry A Berkus as the architect to redo the floorplans because the apartment layouts were not marketable as luxury condos. Berkus approached the redesign the same way he designed single-family houses; he figured that luxury condo buyers paying $500,000 to $2M would want the same amenities as a single-family home. I think this is why you see some unusual amenities in the Park Wilshire that you don’t see in other buildings on the corridor. Castleton had bit off more than he could chew- the CD Invest Co portfolio was huge and contained a dozen buildings the Park Wilshire size or larger. He tried to sell the project with the plans. He supposedly had a buyer but that didn’t go through. The property sat vacant for several more years, before in 1988 Castleton finally began construction. Park Wilshire was built at a cost of $110M. The Long overdue grand opening was in 1989.

The Park Wilshire has a mix of 1,2, and 3 Bedroom floorplans so there is quite a variety. The beautiful Italian granite port cochere welcomes guests. One interesting thing is the two Ancient Chinese Guardian Lions sculptures that guard Park Wilshire’s main entrance. In Chinese culture, Foo Dogs were a sign of good luck. The original developer advertised the Park Wilshire like a Fine European hotel- they have a concierge. On the top two floors (15 & 16) with scintillating views are the ‘Premier Collection’ -12 junior penthouses and 4 penthouses.