Capitol’s Echo Chamber

Plans for a high-rise condo and commercial building next to Hollywood’s iconic Capitol Records tower may have hit a snag.

Capitol execs fear construction could damage unique underground echo chambers used for high-end recordings. The new project would be taller than the Capitol Records building and obscure its visibility to tourists, but if that is an issue with Capitol, it’s not the one that’s making news.

Instead, execs are working to stop the project because they say pile-drivers and noise from excavation on a planned three-level underground garage adjacent to the famed building might harm reverberation equipment, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The famed echo chambers were designed by Les Paul. The site’s been used by artists including Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, and most recently Chris Botti, Natalie Cole and Brian Wilson, according to the paper.

Developers denied that construction would harm the reverb equipment and pledged to limit noise and vibrations during the building phase of the project, which includes 93 condominiums, 13,442 square feet of commercial office space and the 242-space underground parking garage.

EMI Music, which operates Capitol Records, has reportedly appealed the approval of the high-rise by Los Angeles city officials.

"As a major employer in the Hollywood area, Capitol Records is extremely concerned about the viability of us being able to continue to run Capitol Studios in the face of the admittedly significant adverse impacts that will be caused by construction," Capitol VP Maureen Schultz told the Times.

"The sound in the studios is one that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world," she wrote to the L.A. City Council in a letter quoted by the Times. "The echo chambers are as much a part of the Hollywood history as the Capitol Tower and the Hollywood sign."

Some of the chambers are built 30 feet underground, 18 feet from the proposed excavation site, and vary in size and shape to produce different sounds. A speaker pipes music into one end of each chamber and a microphone picks up the reverb at the other end, according to the paper.

Attorney Dale Goldsmith tried to assure EMI that the chambers will be unharmed.

"We’re confident there won’t be any long-term damage," he told the Times. "We’re prepared to indemnify them. They have a right to be concerned, but their concerns are exaggerated.

"There are a series of mitigation measures to be taken during construction," he said. "Muffling devices, dewatering techniques, taking noise-generating equipment as far away as possible from Capitol."