Designed by Louis Naidorf of Welton Becket Associates, it is one of the city's landmarks,[5] and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Construction began soon after British music company EMI acquired Capitol Records in 1955, and was completed in April 1956.

The building is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument and sits in the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District.

[9][10] The wide curved awnings over windows on each story and the tall spike emerging from the top of the building resembles a stack of records on a turntable with the spindle pointing skyward.

In 2012, Studio A received a new AMS Neve 88R mixing console, designed and built for Al Schmitt and Paul McCartney.

[20] In November 2012, Steve Barnett was announced as the new Chairman and CEO of the Capitol Music Group and the company stated his office would be in the building.