Hollywood's legendary Viper Room to be demolished

The music club made famous by Johnny Depp and other buildings will be razed for a mixed-use community

Johnny Depp's band, the Hollywood Vampires, would play the Viper Room. ABC / Getty Images

The entrance to the Hollywood Viper Room in Los Angeles, California. AFP

Johnny Depp opened the Viper Room in 1993 so that he would have a club where he could play guitar and hang out with his celebrity friends. AP

The Viper Room is located at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Larrabee Street in the heart of Hollywood's Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California. Photo: John Lopez

Actor River Phoenix died from an overdose on this sidewalk outside the Viper Room in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Tyler Merbler

Actor River Phoenix tragically died in 1993 outside the Viper Room at the age of 23. His brother, Joaquin, ensures his legacy lives on, naming his newborn son after him. Getty Images

Joaquin and River Phoenix cooking at their home in Los Angeles, California, circa 1985. Photo: Dianna Whitley / Getty Images

Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix have welcomed their first child, a baby boy reportedly named after the 'Joker' actor's late brother, River Phoenix. EPA

Jennifer Aniston was known to frequent the Viper Room and it is where she met former boyfriend Adam Duritz, lead singer of the Counting Crows. AP

Johnny Depp playing with his band The Hollywood Vampires. Getty Images / AFP

Christina Applegate danced in the Pussycat Dolls troupe at the Viper Room in the 90s. AP

Actor/director Sean Penn liked the Viper Room when it was exclusive and away from the paparazzi. Photo: Toronto Film Festival

Amanda Bynes attend a party for the Pussycat Dolls at the Viper Room in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Flogvip Breaking

The Pussycat Dolls started at the Viper Room. Getty Images

American country singer and songwriter Johnny Cash brought his music to the Viper Room for an ultra-secret show. Getty Images

Adam Duritz of The Counting Crows was once a bartender at the Viper Room. Getty Images / AFP

The Viper Room, once owned by Hollywood actor Johnny Depp, will soon face the wrecking ball and be replaced with luxury condominiums, shops and restaurants.

The legendary Sunset Strip music club was opened in 1993 by Depp and actor Sal Jenco. Depp wanted a club where not only his celebrity friends could hang out, but also where he could play guitar – away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi. Jenco acted on 21 Jump Street with Depp.

To celebrate its opening night, Depp booked Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to play the 250-capacity venue. Other groups such as The Cult, Tenacious D with frontman Jack Black, Hole, country legend Johnny Cash, The Strokes, Keanu Reeves’s band Dogstar and Juliette Lewis’s Juliette and the Licks all played the venue.

Adam Durtiz of Counting Crows fame worked behind the bar and referred to it as his “second home”. It is also where the Round Here singer met and courted actress Jennifer Aniston.

Other celebrity habitues included Sean Penn, Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio and River Phoenix, who tragically died there on October 31, 1993. It is also where INXS frontman Michael Hutchence gave his last performance before taking his own life a week later.

In 2018, the Viper Room and several adjacent buildings along the Sunset Strip were reportedly sold for $80 million to a buyer known simply as 8850 Sunset.

Other businesses on the block will be levelled to make way for a hotel, 26 condominiums and eight income-restricted housing units. Cafes, shops and the Viper Room entrance will be part of a two-storey platform at street level, while the hotel will rise up to the fifth story, according to The Daily News.

Depp owned the Viper Room until 2004 when he turned control over to Amanda Fox, the daughter of his missing business partner Anthony Fox. Depp and Mr Fox had fallen out of favour and then Mr Fox went missing. His vehicle was later found by police, although he never was.

The Viper Room’s last owner was Harry Morton, son of Hard Rock Cafe founder Peter Morton, who bought it in 2008 and planned to open similar clubs in Las Vegas, Miami, Portland, Seattle, New York, London, and Tokyo.