The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Torrance – South Bay from “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

I do not think O.J. Simpson is guilty.  I know how incendiary that statement is and, up until a couple of years ago, had I heard it come out of someone else’s mouth I would have found the sentiment absurd.  But in November 2012 I read O.J. Is Innocent and I Can Prove It, written by esteemed private investigator William C. Dear, and became convinced that the former footballer was actually innocent of the murders of Ronald Goldman and Nicole Simpson.  Now before you jump down my throat telling me how batsh*t crazy I sound, I urge you to read the book yourself.  It’s incredibly well-researched, thought-provoking, and detailed.  Moreover, Dear’s theory just makes sense.  All the pieces fit together – without involving drug deals gone bad, frame jobs, or Cuban neckties.  My fascination with the Simpson case did not start with O.J. Is Innocent.  Not only did I live through the trial, but I have read countless books (A Problem of Evidence is another favorite) and articles (Dominick Dunne’s Vanity Fair columns are by far the best) about the events of June 12th, 1994.  One aspect of the case I never gave much thought to, though, was the extreme hardship that the jury was under.  So I was especially enthralled by the “A Jury in Jail” episode of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.  I quickly became fascinated by the chosen twelve’s (and their alternates’) experiences – and also a wee bit obsessed with tracking down the hotel featured on the show and the hotel where the actual jury was put up in real life.  It did not take me long to find both and I ran right out to stalk them back in early April.

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While watching “A Jury in Jail,” I noticed that two large fish tanks were visible in the lobby of the hotel where the jury was sequestered.  Knowing aquariums are not a typical hotel feature, I figured they would be my key in identifying the locale.  So I did a Google search for “Los Angeles,” “hotel,” “lobby,” and “fish tanks,” but unfortunately the results yielded nada.  A few weeks prior, I had noticed that the IMDB page about the miniseries’ filming locations mentioned that some scenes were lensed in Torrance, so I did a second Google search, this time inputting “Torrance,” “hotel,” “lobby,” and “fish tanks.”  The first result to come back was a TripAdvisor page about the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Torrance – South Bay.  So I headed on over to the property’s website and, sure enough, it was the right spot!

It is not hard to see why producers chose to feature the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Torrance – South Bay as the jurors’ upscale “downtown L.A.” digs.  The sprawling property does have a very tony feel to it and, though not outdated by any means, bears a very ’90s vibe.

In real life, the DoubleTree features a fitness center, a large outdoor pool flanked by several waterfalls and ponds, a hot tub, two eateries (Andre’s Restaurant and the Tea Tree Café), 16,000 square feet of meeting space, a business center, and complimentary Wi-Fi and parking.  Bonus – the hotel is located just steps away from Del Amo Fashion Center, an oft-filmed mall with an incredible half-abandoned section that I will be blogging about soon.

Several areas of the DoubleTree were used in The People v. O.J. Simpson, including the exterior;

the front entrance;

the lobby;

the Crystal Ballroom – which was both where the jury received their sequester instructions . . .

. . . and argued over what TV shows to watch;

one of the rooms (though we did not check out any of the DoubleTree rooms while we were there, as you can see below, the room shown in the episode matches an image taken from the hotel’s website);

and Andre’s Restaurant . . .

. . . which appeared in several scenes.

Had to do it!

The hotel where the jury stayed in real life was also a fairly easy find.  When I first started doing research on the subject, I came across a fascinating October 1995 Los Angeles Times article about the final evening of the juror’s 265-night sequester which stated that the group was put up at the Hotel Inter-Continental in downtown Los Angeles.  Though the Inter-Continental is no longer in existence, a quick Google search told me that the property is now the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza located at 251 South Olive Street.

The 17-story, 453-room hotel was originally built in 1992, so when the jurors checked in on January 11th, 1995, it was practically brand new.  The site has undergone two renovations since being taken over by the Omni brand in 2000, the most recent of which was a $15-million facelift completed in 2011.

The Four Diamond Omni Los Angeles Hotel boasts a heated outdoor pool, a fitness center, two restaurants, and a spa – none of which the jury was allowed to make use of.

The focal point of the spacious two-story lobby is a massive 3,000-pound glass-enclosed sculpture named “Yellow Fin” that was designed by David Stromeyer.

The Omni is situated adjacent to California Plaza, an outdoor gathering space popular with downtown workers that features restaurants, cafes, fountains, and walkways.

The hotel is also a filming location.  It was seen briefly in the 2000 action flick Gone in 60 Seconds as the spot where Kip Raines (Giovanni Ribisi) and Tumbler (Scott Caan) stole a car by pretending to be a rock star and his driver, respectively.

And playing itself, it was the hotel where Brig. Gen. Bill Marks (Bruce Davison) was staying in the 2002 thriller High Crimes.  (Please pardon the craptastic screen captures below, which I got off of YouTube.)

During their sequester, the 12 Simpson jurors and 12 alternates (by the end of the trial, only two of those alternates remained) stayed in standard rooms on the fifth floor of the Inter-Continental.  As depicted in The People v. O.J. Simpson, televisions were removed from the jurors’ rooms, as were telephones and all reading materials.  Security was so tight and the jurors kept so far removed from civilization, in fact, that the entire fifth floor remained off-limits to other guests.  Hotel elevators were set to bypass the fifth floor entirely and jurors were forced to make use of a guarded service elevator.  On the final night of the sequester (after their verdict had been returned, but not yet announced), the group threw a party in the Inter-Continental’s 17th-floor presidential suite, complete with champagne and salmon canapés, to celebrate the fact that they were finally going home.  Honestly, after seeing everything they went through, it comes as no surprise that deliberations lasted only a scant 4 hours.  The jurors wanted to get out of dodge as quickly as possible.  And who can blame them?  Sure, they had a job to do, one that needed to be taken extremely seriously, but what Johnny Cochran and Marcia Clark did to them was virtually criminal (and yes, as was depicted in the series, I believe Marcia’s hands were just as dirty as Johnny’s when it came to putting the jury through ridiculous ongoing time-consuming nonsense).  The O.J. Simpson case was a sad situation all around and in the end it served to do only one thing – make a mockery of the U.S. justice system.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking! 

Stalk It: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Torrance – South Bay, aka the hotel where the jurors were sequestered in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, is located at 21333 Hawthorne Boulevard in Torrance.  You can visit the property’s official website here.  Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza, aka the former Hotel Inter-Continental where the Simpson jurors were sequestered in real life, is located at 251 South Olive Street in downtown L.A.  You can visit the property’s official website here.