The Depression forced the Hotel to close its doors, and Leighten had to relinquish ownership to Bank of America. However, some of the bungalows did stay occupied under individual leases. In 1932, Bank of America reopened the Hotel with William Kimball as manager, but the Hotel struggled financially, and in 1935, the bank installed one of its vice presidents, Hernando Courtright, to oversee foreclosure.

However, Courtright fell in love with the Hotel and its cachet and couldn’t bear the thought of foreclosing. He instead orchestrated a buyout, installed himself as manager, and presided over the period of the Hotel’s fastest growth. In the next decade, it became an even bigger celebrity spot than it had been in the 1920s.

Meanwhile, The Beverly Hills Hotel was still where stars met to see and be seen, as well as to conduct discreet affairs -- Clark Gable and Carole Lombard used to rendezvous in the bungalows before his divorce and their marriage. A 1938 picture shows Jimmy Stewart and Norma Shearer at a charity dinner thrown by Bette Davis.