The Morrison Hotel, named after The Doors' 1970 album, was occupied by dozens of homeless squatters when it was destroyed by a massive fire on Thursday.
About 100 firefighters battled the blaze at the downtown Los Angeles hotel known for its legendary rock album cover for at least two hours starting at 11 a.m.
The fire destroyed the roof of the building, which is currently flagged as uninhabitable.
Photographer Henry Dilts, who shot the album cover, said it was “very sad” to see the landmark so badly damaged. CBS News Los Angeles: “I hope someone rebuilds it.”
Immediately after the alarm went off, dozens of homeless people fled the building, and firefighters used a ladder to rescue three other people from the third floor, a fire brigade spokesperson said. he told the Los Angeles Times. There were no injuries.
Investigators are still looking into whether squatters may have started the fire. According to Fox11
But the homeless people squatting there have always been a problem for its current owner, the nonprofit AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which bought the building in 2022 for about $12 million and is looking to build an affordable Renovated into affordable housing.
“When we cleared the building last week, there were about 15 people. [homeless people inside]'' said the foundation's Mark Dyer.
“As soon as they secure the building, the homeless will take out their power tools and pick the locks within hours,” he told FOX 11.
The building was used as low-income housing until it was vacated in 2008, and had no official occupants for nearly a decade. Previous plans to turn it into a luxury hotel were scrapped after the developer defaulted on a loan, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“Personally, I've never seen a fire this big,” Juan Jose Gutierrez, a nearby business owner, told Fox11.
[The affordable housing] It was good for the community, but unfortunately that building is no longer there. ”
Photographer Dilts has previously said that the iconic image of The Doors peering out of a hotel window almost never came to fruition.
Hotel staff told the band they weren't allowed to take photos inside the hotel, but once the staff left, the group ran into the lobby, where Dilts immediately snapped a photo peering through a window.
This photo, with legendary frontman Jim Morrison in the center and an advertising room sign for just $2.50, featured on the cover of the band's fifth album, “Morrison Hotel.'' .
Morrison would release her last album with the band, LA Woman, before she was found dead in a bathtub in Paris on July 3, 1971.
with post wire
