Here’s a hot tip for any real estate moguls/movie buffs who not only admire cult director Ed Wood’s movies, but also his haphazardly optimistic approach to business decisions: the director’s old Los Angeles studio is on the market. And while it currently houses, among other things, “a go-go venue with Thai bikini dancers,” there’s no reason this beautiful property couldn’t be part of movie magic once again.
Besides its connection to Wood, the property at 5628 Santa Monica Boulevard, has also housed a rehearsal studio reportedly used by Jimi Hendrix, Guns N’ Roses, and The Doors. According to a creatively euphemistic write-up in L.A. Weekly, the building also contains a “secret room,” recently discovered between the first and second floors. As one might expect from a mysterious hiding spot found in a building once frequented by noted eccentrics like Wood, Jim Morrison, and Axl Rose, the secret room once housed a barbecue restaurant.
Technically, Woods’ studio—where he and his coterie of Z-movie associates filmed movies like Plan 9 From Outer Space and Glen Or Glenda—is at 5628 1/2 Santa Monica, in an added bow-truss building that’s part of the property being sold. Interested parties—for instance, anybody who owns some parts of Bela Lugosi’s old property, and wants to splice them together with this one to make a nearly functional building—can contact L.A.’s Silver Commercial Inc. for more details.