• TRAVEL
    • THREE PERFECT DAYS
    • WHERE TO STAY
    • WHAT TO DO
    • ADVENTURE
  • FOOD + DRINK
    • RESTAURANTS
    • BARS + COCKTAILS
    • WINE + BEER
  • CULTURE
    • THE HEMI Q+A
    • TV + FILM
    • MUSIC
    • THEATER
    • SPORTS
    • STYLE + DESIGN
  • Watch
Menu
  • TRAVEL
    • THREE PERFECT DAYS
    • WHERE TO STAY
    • WHAT TO DO
    • ADVENTURE
  • FOOD + DRINK
    • RESTAURANTS
    • BARS + COCKTAILS
    • WINE + BEER
  • CULTURE
    • THE HEMI Q+A
    • TV + FILM
    • MUSIC
    • THEATER
    • SPORTS
    • STYLE + DESIGN
  • Watch
Search
Close
Home > TRAVEL > WHERE TO STAY > Feminist Art

This Hotel Has Become a Canvas for Feminist Art

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on pinterest
Share on email
  • by Nicholas DeRenzo
  • October 1, 2018

It’s hard to miss the artistic flair of Downtown Los Angeles’s newly renovated Hotel Figueroa. After all, a 12-story mural of tropical foliage by Bella Gomez snakes up the back of the building. What really sets this hotel’s design apart, though, is that it features a permanent collection composed entirely of works by LA-based female artists.

The reason for this feminist refresh is embedded in the hotel’s history. When it opened in 1926, as a YWCA hotel with nine floors reserved exclusively for women, it was then the largest real estate project ever financed and operated primarily by women. “We are stewards of the hotel, and with that comes an obligation to carry forward the spirit and conviction of the founding women,” says Figueroa co-owner and Capital Hall Partners CEO Bradley Hall.

Foremost among those pioneers was Maude N. Bouldin, the first female manager of a large American hotel. “She flew her own planes across the country, rode motorcycles, and raced men in motorcars, because she knew she could beat them,” Hall says. Guests will find a tribute to the former manager immediately upon entering the reception area, where Alison Van Pelt’s crimson portrait of Bouldin astride a motorcycle hangs. “She was a firecracker,” Hall says.

Need a little extra wanderlust in your inbox?
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

You May Also Like

On Location with the Motor City-set 'Detroiters'

Everything Happening in DC During the MLB All-Star Game

The Gateway Arch Gets a Much-Needed Makeover

These Chefs Are Pushing the Limits on the San Juan Islands

Marcus Samuelsson Uses His Culinary Skill to Bring People Together

Hannibal Buress Discovers the Joy of a New Orleans Second Line

  • Feminist, Hemispheres, Hotels, LA, Los Angeles, Street Art
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on pinterest
Share on email

Recommended

CULTURE

On Location with the Motor City-set ‘Detroiters’

  • BY Lauren Vespoli
CULTURE

Everything Happening in DC During the MLB All-Star Game

  • BY Elliott Smith
TRAVEL

The Gateway Arch Gets a Much-Needed Makeover

  • BY Susan B. Barnes
Restaurants

These Chefs Are Pushing the Limits on the San Juan Islands

  • BY Naomi Tomky
Hemispheres United Airlines

Hemispheres is the award-winning onboard magazine for United Airlines. The magazine is published by Ink and produced by a dedicated staff of media professionals out of an Ink satellite office in Brooklyn, New York.

Instagram Twitter Facebook-f Youtube

Content

  • Travel
  • Food + Drink
  • Culture
  • Watch

About

  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Advertising
  • Writers Guidelines

Legal

  • Terms + Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Anti-bribery & corruption policy
united_4p_h_w_r.png

© 2020 Ink for United Airlines. All rights reserved