LOS ANGELES, CA-Hilton Hotels Corp. has opened the Checkers Hotel in downtown Los Angeles under the Hilton name, adding the latest chapter in the story of a building that dates back to the 1920s, has been designated as a City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural monument, and is eligible for the National Historic Register.

Beverly Hills-based Hilton is nearing completion on a $4 million renovation of guest rooms and public areas at the 12-story property at 535 S. Grand Ave., which formerly was the Wyndham Checkers Hotel. The Checkers is in the midst of the city's main business and financial district, a few blocks from office complexes, the Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Ken Bernstein,director of preservation issues at the Los Angeles Conservancy, tells GlobeSt.com that the Checkers began as the Mayflower Hotel in 1927, combining Spanish modern exterior architecture with an interior that the original owners described as “Pilgrim Revival” to complement the Mayflower name. The interior has since been remodeled several times. Bernstein says the building was designed by Charles Wittlesey, a prominent architect of the time, who also designed the El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the Hayward Hotel at Sixth and Spring streets in Los Angeles, and the former Los Angeles Philharmonic Auditorium at Fifth and Olive streets, which has been demolished.