L.A. clears homeless encampment near Hollywood’s Sunset Sound recording studio
The city of Los Angeles on Friday cleared a homeless encampment near Hollywood’s landmark Sunset Sound recording studio and moved more than 30 people into temporary housing, officials said.
The long-standing encampment next to the Sunset Boulevard recording studio had become a tinderbox in the neighborhood. The owner of Sunset Sound previously complained that the encampment, sidewalk fires and a break-in had threatened the business and made high-profile artists uncomfortable.
A stack of blank checks was stolen from the business during a February break-in, and employees found human feces on a drum set, Sunset Sound President Paul Camarata told media outlets earlier this year. He said he installed cacti in massive wooden planters on the sidewalk to try to deter the encampment from reappearing.
The encampment was cleared as a part of Inside Safe, the program launched by Mayor Karen Bass that has taken homeless people off the streets and moved them into city-leased hotels, motels and other facilities.
Two days before the operation, about a dozen tents and other structures were visible outside the studio at Sunset and Cherokee Avenue.
Bass’ office said that, between the Hollywood operation and another intervention in Windsor Square at 6th Street and Van Ness Avenue, more than 35 people were temporarily housed this week.
Photos shared by the mayor’s office showed Bass talking to unhoused people on the sidewalk outside Sunset Sound and on a city bus Friday.
Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, whose district includes Hollywood, said that everyone living at the Sunset encampment accepted “services and housing.”
“Many people living at this encampment have been in the same area on the street for over five years, and now they are finally able to move into housing because of Inside Safe,” Soto-Martinez said in a statement.
The recording studio, which opened in 1960, has been used by high-profile artists including Elton John, Taylor Swift, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the Doors, Janis Joplin, Van Halen and Prince.
Representatives for Sunset Sound didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
