LOS ANGELES, CA-Hilton Hotels Corp. has opened the CheckersHotel in downtown Los Angeles under the Hilton name, adding thelatest chapter in the story of a building that dates back to the1920s, has been designated as a City of Los AngelesHistoric-Cultural monument, and is eligible for the NationalHistoric Register.

Beverly Hills-based Hilton is nearing completion on a $4 millionrenovation of guest rooms and public areas at the 12-story propertyat 535 S. Grand Ave., which formerly was the Wyndham CheckersHotel. The Checkers is in the midst of the city's main business andfinancial district, a few blocks from office complexes, the StaplesCenter and the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Ken Bernstein,director of preservation issues at the Los AngelesConservancy, tells GlobeSt.com that the Checkers began as theMayflower Hotel in 1927, combining Spanish modern exteriorarchitecture with an interior that the original owners described as“Pilgrim Revival” to complement the Mayflower name. The interiorhas since been remodeled several times. Bernstein says the buildingwas designed by Charles Wittlesey, a prominent architect of thetime, who also designed the El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon inArizona, the Hayward Hotel at Sixth and Spring streets in LosAngeles, and the former Los Angeles Philharmonic Auditorium atFifth and Olive streets, which has been demolished.