The building that once housed the Morrison Hotel, featured on the cover of the Doors' 1970 self-titled album, was gutted by fire.
The building that once housed the Morrison Hotel, featured on the iconic cover of The Doors' 1970 self-titled album, suffered extensive damage Thursday following a fire.
No one was injured in the fire, which caused the roof of the 110-year-old and largely unoccupied four-story building in downtown Los Angeles to collapse. The Morrison Hotel had been vacant for more than a decade, although homeless people frequently squatted the structure.
Photographer Henry Diltz, who photographed Jim Morrison and his musicians inside the hotel for the album cover, would later co-found the Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York. In 2020, Diltz remembered his famous photo, writing: “ We were staying at a transient hotel in downtown Los Angeles on Hope Street. The Doors didn't have permission to take photos, so when the lobby was empty, they quickly went in and sat behind the window. A roll of film was completed before we were asked to leave. »
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Following news of the fire, Diltz wrote on social media: “ Sad to hear that the original Morrison Hotel in downtown Los Angeles caught fire yesterday… It was a beautiful old wooden building with many small rooms upstairs where transients and drinkers slept on a bed camp for $2.50 a night! I think the beautiful window with “Morrison Hotel” in red letters was the best part of the building… & The Doors too! »
The building was purchased by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in 2023, with the nonprofit planning to transform it into affordable housing.
Ironically, in recent years the vacant building has been used by firefighters as a training location, reports theAssociated Press.
