Ace Hotel Los Angeles
A former Ace Hotel and restored movie-theater complex occupying the historic United Artists Theatre building in downtown Los Angeles.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Ace Hotel Los Angeles was the hospitality and cultural-events operation housed in the historic United Artists Theatre and office building at 937 South Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. The property combined a 182-room boutique hotel with a restored movie palace, rooftop pool, restaurant, bars, and live-event programming. Although the Ace-branded hotel opened in 2014, the building itself dates to 1927 and was created for United Artists, the film studio associated with D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford. Designed by C. Howard Crane of Walker & Eisen, the Spanish Gothic high-rise was modeled in part on Segovia Cathedral and became an important landmark of the Broadway Theater District. The theater occupies three floors of the thirteen-story building and originally contained a 2,214-seat auditorium. It operated as the United Artists Theatre from 1927 until 1990, serving as a major premiere venue and classic movie palace. From 1990 through 2011, the auditorium was used by televangelist Gene Scott and his ministry as University Cathedral. Scott first leased the venue in 1989 and later purchased the building in 2002. After his death, services continued under Melissa Scott until the property was sold in 2011 to Greenfield Partners for $11 million. Greenfield Partners undertook a large-scale restoration and redevelopment. The hotel opened on January 16, 2014, while the theater reopened on February 14, 2014, under the name The Theatre at the Ace Hotel. The venue became a setting for concerts, dance, film-related events, and public cultural programming. Its documented events included a staged reading of an early draft of Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight in April 2014 and a Red Hot Chili Peppers fundraising performance supporting Bernie Sanders in February 2016. L.A. Dance Project also took up residence in the theater. The property changed ownership in 2015, when Chesapeake Lodging Trust acquired the building for $103 million after Greenfield Partners had marketed it for approximately $100 million. The Ace Hotel operation closed on January 31, 2024. The hotel reopened the following month under a different operating model as STILE Downtown Los Angeles by Kasa, a limited-service, rooms-only hotel managed through Kasa Living’s technology platform. The theater was also rebranded in 2024 as The United Theater on Broadway. Accordingly, Ace Hotel Los Angeles is best understood as a former hotel operation associated with a major historic building, rather than the building’s current name or operator.
History
The building now associated with the former Ace Hotel Los Angeles was completed in 1927 at 937 South Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. It was designed by architect C. Howard Crane, working with Walker & Eisen, for United Artists, the film studio established by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford. The Spanish Gothic exterior drew inspiration from Segovia Cathedral. At completion, the thirteen-story structure was the tallest building in Los Angeles for one year and remained the city’s tallest privately owned building until 1956. The United Artists Theatre occupied three floors and contained a 2,214-seat auditorium. As a classic movie palace and United Artists premiere house, it formed the cultural centerpiece of the building. The auditorium’s design included orchestra seating that descended toward the front, requiring patrons in the lowest rows to look upward toward the stage. The theater operated under its original name from 1927 to 1990. A major change came in 1989, when televangelist Gene Scott leased the theater for his ministry. He held his first Sunday service there in 1990, and the venue became known as University Cathedral. Services continued until Scott’s death in 2005 and subsequently continued under his widow, Melissa Scott. Broadcasts were distributed through television, shortwave radio, and the internet. During this period the building was also associated with large Bible holdings and prominent rooftop “Jesus Saves” neon signs, which had originally come from the Church of the Open Door. One of the signs was removed by crane on September 10, 2011. Gene Scott purchased the building in 2002. In October 2011, Wescott Christian Center Inc. sold it to Greenfield Partners, a Connecticut-based real-estate investment company, for $11 million. Greenfield then pursued restoration and adaptive reuse, converting the office and commercial portions into a boutique hotel while preserving and restoring the historic theater. The hotel opened on January 16, 2014, as Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles. It contained 182 rooms and included a pool, restaurant, three bars, and the restored theater. The theater reopened on February 14, 2014, as The Theatre at the Ace Hotel, with concerts by Spiritualized. L.A. Dance Project established a residence there, and the venue developed a program spanning music, dance, cinema, and special events. Quentin Tarantino held a staged reading of an early draft of The Hateful Eight at the theater on April 19, 2014. On February 5, 2016, the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed a fundraiser at the Ace Hotel in support of Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign. The ownership structure changed soon after the hotel opened. Greenfield Partners offered the property for sale in December 2014, reportedly seeking approximately $100 million. Chesapeake Lodging Trust completed its acquisition in May 2015 for $103 million. The Ace hotel operation closed on January 31, 2024. In February 2024, the hotel reopened as STILE Downtown Los Angeles by Kasa, a limited-service, rooms-only property managed by Kasa Living through a technology platform. The theater was separately rebranded as The United Theater on Broadway in 2024. The property has continued to carry historic significance after the Ace era. It was included in the expanded Broadway Theater and Commercial District when that district was enlarged in 2002, and it is designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 523. The building’s current hotel and theater identities therefore differ from the Ace Hotel branding that defined the site from 2014 through early 2024.
- 2024
Ace operation ends and theater is rebranded
[1]The hotel closes on January 31, later reopening as STILE Downtown Los Angeles by Kasa; the theater becomes The United Theater on Broadway.
- 2015
Chesapeake Lodging Trust buys the building
[1]Chesapeake Lodging Trust acquires the property for $103 million.
- 2014
Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles opens
[1]The restored building opens as a 182-room boutique hotel on January 16.
- 2014
The Theatre at the Ace Hotel reopens
[1]The restored theater resumes public programming on February 14 with Spiritualized concerts.
- 2011
Greenfield Partners acquires the property
[1]Wescott Christian Center Inc. sells the building to Greenfield Partners for $11 million.
- 2002
Building enters the expanded historic district
[1]The building is included in the expanded Broadway Theater and Commercial District and is identified as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 523.
- 2002
Gene Scott purchases the building
[1]Gene Scott acquires the property after leasing it for the ministry.
- 1990
Venue becomes University Cathedral
[1]Scott begins holding Sunday services in the former movie palace, which becomes known as University Cathedral.
- 1989
Gene Scott leases the theater
[1]Televangelist Gene Scott leases the theater for use by his ministry.
- 1956
Building ceases to be Los Angeles’s tallest privately owned structure
[1]The building remains the city’s tallest privately owned structure until 1956.
Products and positioning
A design-led boutique hotel and cultural venue combining adaptive reuse, historic architecture, downtown Los Angeles hospitality, and live programming.
Boutique hotel · 2014
Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles
The hotel component of the restored United Artists building opened in January 2014 with 182 rooms. Its facilities included a pool, restaurant, three bars, and access to a restored historic theater. The property was positioned as a design-conscious downtown Los Angeles hotel integrated with a major cultural venue. The Ace-branded operation ended when the hotel closed on January 31, 2024.
Live-events and theater venue · 2014
The Theatre at the Ace Hotel
The restored 2,214-seat movie palace reopened in February 2014 as the cultural and entertainment venue connected to Ace Hotel Los Angeles. It hosted concerts, dance, film events, readings, fundraisers, and other public programs. Notable documented activities included Spiritualized concerts, an L.A. Dance Project residency, Quentin Tarantino’s staged reading of an early The Hateful Eight draft, and a Red Hot Chili Peppers fundraiser. The venue was rebranded The United Theater on Broadway in 2024.
Hospitality services · 2014
Hotel amenities
During the Ace period, the property offered rooms together with a pool, restaurant, and three bars. These facilities formed part of the hotel’s full-service boutique-hospitality proposition and complemented the building’s theater and events program.
Marketing campaigns
- 2016Red Hot Chili Peppers Bernie Sanders fundraiser
United States
The Ace Hotel hosted a Red Hot Chili Peppers fundraising performance on February 5, 2016, supporting Bernie Sanders’s campaign for president.
Outcome. The event served as a political fundraising concert; no further outcome is specified in the cited material.
Brand decisions
2024
End of Ace hotel operationsStrategyBackground
The Ace-branded hotel operation reached the end of its documented period at the property.
Action taken
The hotel closed on January 31, 2024, and later reopened under Kasa management as STILE Downtown Los Angeles by Kasa.
Aftermath
The hotel became a limited-service, rooms-only operation without food-and-beverage establishments, while the theater adopted the United Theater on Broadway identity.
2015
Chesapeake Lodging Trust acquisitionM&ABackground
Greenfield Partners marketed the recently redeveloped property for sale after the Ace hotel and theater opened.
Action taken
Chesapeake Lodging Trust purchased the building in May 2015.
Aftermath
The Ace hotel and theater continued operating at the property until the hotel closure in 2024.
Purchase price. $103 million (May 2015)
2011
Adaptive-reuse redevelopment of the historic buildingStrategyBackground
After Greenfield Partners acquired the former theater and ministry property, the building was selected for conversion into a boutique hotel while retaining the historic auditorium.
Action taken
The office and commercial portions were restored and renovated for hotel use, and the theater was restored for concerts and cultural events.
Aftermath
The hotel opened in 2014 as Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles and the theater reopened as The Theatre at the Ace Hotel.
Acquisition price. $11 million (October 2011)
Recent events
- 2024
Ace Hotel Los Angeles closes[1]
Other
The Ace-branded hotel operation closed on January 31, ending the property’s period as Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles.
- 2024
Hotel reopens as STILE Downtown Los Angeles by Kasa[1]
Product generation
The hotel reopened in February under Kasa Living management as a limited-service, rooms-only property without food-and-beverage venues.
- 2024
The theater becomes The United Theater on Broadway[1]
Other
The former Theatre at the Ace Hotel received a new operating and public identity in 2024.
- 2015
Chesapeake Lodging Trust acquires the building[1]
M&A
Chesapeake Lodging Trust purchased the Ace Hotel building for $103 million.
- 2014
Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles opens[1]
Product launch
The restored building opened as a 182-room boutique hotel with hospitality facilities and the restored theater.
- 2014
The Theatre at the Ace Hotel reopens[1]
Product launch · Campaign
The restored theater reopened on February 14 with performances by Spiritualized and subsequently hosted concerts, dance, film, and other cultural events.
- 2014
Greenfield Partners markets the property for sale[1]
Other
The building was placed on the market in December, with an asking price reported at approximately $100 million.
- 2011
United Artists Theatre building sold to Greenfield Partners[1]
M&A
Greenfield Partners acquired the historic building from Wescott Christian Center Inc. for $11 million after the property had been used for Gene Scott’s ministry.
Sources1 sources
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