Westside : Sale of Landmark Max Factor Building Draws Protest

Outraged that Procter & Gamble Co. plans to sell the landmark Max Factor building and its museum collection, some Hollywood locals staged a demonstration Thursday outside the building.

Procter & Gamble has agreed to sell the building to developer Donelle Dadigan for $1.15 million, said Ed Rider, chief archivist for Procter & Gamble. Dadigan said she intends to lease most of the building to the Museum of Hollywood History, an archive that is to open when the sale is completed.

The deal will not be final until the Los Angeles City Council approves $1.8 million in loans and grants from the Community Redevelopment Agency to restore the building and to make earthquake repairs.

Several pieces in the Max Factor collection will remain with the Museum of Hollywood History, but the bulk of the items have already been donated to the Hollywood Entertainment Museum, which is in the planning stages.

Those opposed to the sale of the Max Factor building are concerned that the Entertainment Museum will never open and that the Max Factor collection will deteriorate while in storage.

Rider said the company’s operations in Maryland and Ohio are too far from Hollywood to make the museum worthwhile. He also pointed out that Procter & Gamble executives received approval from several Hollywood representatives--including former Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Woo--before the building was sold. . . .