re: Pictures from days gone by....

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The four-story, 52,000-square-foot (4,800 m2) Italian Renaissance Revival sourced Mediterranean Revival style structure was built in 1927 and operated initially as a luxury apartment building catering to the entertainment business. In the 1930s, it became the "most famous brothel in California.

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Classiest brothel on the Sunset Strip

During the 1930s, the building gained notoriety as the site of the "House of Francis," described as the "most famous brothel in California," and the "classiest brothel on the Sunset Strip". The "House of Francis" was featured in a 2005 book about Hollywood's "fixers," the men who worked to shield Hollywood's Golden Age stars from public scandal. The fixers reportedly had their "hands full" trying to cover for events at the high-class brothel. The establishment was run by famed madam Lee Francis, who wrote the book Ladies on Call. The brothel was staffed largely by young women who had come to Hollywood to become movie stars but ended up as highly paid prostitutes, making as much as $1,000 a week—a fortune in the Depression era.

In his 1981 book, Hidden Hollywood, Hollywood historian Richard Lamparski reported that Francis entertained "married men and movie stars world-famous for their sexual attractiveness." Regular customers at the "House of Francis" included Jean Harlow, who visited the house and paid Francis $500 to take customers home with her. Francis' prostitutes and customers reportedly "complained about Harlow's rough sexual appetite." Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, and Spencer Tracy were also regular customers, and the "fixers" often had to retrieve the ill-tempered Tracy from the establishment. The MGM studio was reported to have maintained a business charge account at the brothel under an assumed name.

Francis reportedly paid 40% of her profits to police and politicians, and occasional vice squad "raids" reportedly resulted in no arrests, as police were greeted with cash, Russian caviar and French champagne. However, in 1940, Francis was arrested in a police raid and convicted of operating a house of ill repute. Upon her arrest, Francis reportedly told the arresting officer, "You are a sly one you are. In 31 years in business, this is the first time anyone ever got me."

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No matter 72 HOURS how far from camp, ice cold refreshments or scalding hot soups or coffee are always at hand with those who carry the wonderful Thermos.

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