FINALLY, ROOM AT THE INN; VAN NUYS HOTEL REBORN IN POST-QUAKE REVIVAL.Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer They can't call the Holiday Inn Express the ``cat hotel'' any more. For five years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time 132-room hotel at 8244 Orion Ave. sat damaged and abandoned, a victim - and to some, an unwelcome reminder - of the Northridge Earthquake The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6. . Since the 1994 temblor, it has remained closed to all but four-legged guests. But $2.5 million in renovations have erased the scars from that day. It's a new Holiday Inn Express that began taking in human rather than feline guests a few weeks ago, and at 4:30 p.m. today officially celebrates its grand opening in style, complete with champagne and white gloves. ``We're doing it big,'' said Chris Phillips Chris Phillips (born March 9, 1978 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He has been a member of the National Hockey League's Ottawa Senators for his entire career, which began with the 1997-98 season. , sales and catering manager for the lodge. The Van Nuys hotel, which sits on the border of North Hills and Panorama City, was acquired in 1996 by Houston-based National Hotel Management Inc. from American General Hospitality, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. hotel general manager George Noumer. That Dallas-based company had filed for bankruptcy. The purchase was part of a 16-hotel portfolio that includes the cylindrical Brentwood Holiday Inn off the San Diego Freeway The San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405, and the part of Interstate 5 south of the El Toro Y[1]) is one of the principal north-south highways in Southern California, and the major beltway of I-5 running through Southern California. at Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades. and the Crowne Plaza This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. hotel near Los Angeles International Airport “LAX” redirects here. For other uses, see LAX (disambiguation). “KLAX” redirects here. For other uses, see KLAX (disambiguation). Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX, FAA LID: LAX , he said. The hotel opened in 1968 as a Holiday Inn, and became an Express just four months before the earthquake. But once the temblor hit, it was declared unsafe to inhabit and remained closed until late February. ``It was one of the very few remaining buildings that were down because of the quake,'' Noumer said. ``It was a very bad reminder for the neighborhood in general.'' National Hotel Management renovated its larger new properties before tackling the Holiday Inn Express in August. The hotel has undergone an extensive, seven-month renovation. Its structure has been strengthened, new furniture and carpeting have been added to the rooms, a new fitness center and other services have been added, and the pool - which was ``cracked in so many pieces'' that it wasn't recognizable - has been fixed. The cats have been replaced by human lodgers, who already have included movie crews and recording artists who came to the area to work, Noumer said. ``This for the Valley area is a really big event,'' he said of the hotel's reopening. ``This hotel has been part of the history (of this area) since 1968; for it to be shut down this long, it was a shame.'' Nancy Hoffman, executive vice president of the Mid Valley Chamber of Commerce, said the newly reopened hotel represents further evidence of the continuing revitalization of the Northeast Valley. Among the area's recent milestones: the opening of the nation's first urban Wal-Mart and the opening of The Plant, a commercial and retail development at an old General Motors production plant. ``Then to have this one building up the street reopen, this whole area has had this resurgence of life,'' Hoffman said. CAPTION(S): Photo, Map PHOTO (Color) Sales manager sales manager n → gerente m/f de ventas sales manager n → directeur commercial sales manager sale n → Chris Phillips, left, general manager George Noumer and controller Zeny Carada stand in front of the renovated hotel. John Lazar/Daily News MAP: Holiday Inn Express 8244 Orion Ave |
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