A fire tore through the historic Morrison Hotel building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, forcing several dozen occupants to flee as firefighters worked to contain the blaze.
The Morrison Hotel, famously featured on the cover of The Doors’ 1970 album of the same name, had been slated for redevelopment. In recent years, plans were underway to partially demolish and transform the 110-year-old structure into a luxury hotel. However, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) purchased the property last year with the intention of converting it into affordable housing. At the time of the fire, the nonprofit was still in the planning stages of the project.
In recent months, the building had faced repeated break-ins by individuals experiencing homelessness, despite efforts by AHF to secure the site with fencing and steel-plated doors. “As soon as we secure the building, the homeless come up with power tools within hours and just cut the locks off,” said Mark Dyer, AHF’s vice president of operations.
The fire broke out around 11 a.m., prompting an evacuation of the building. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), several unhoused individuals were seen fleeing the structure as firefighters arrived. “There were some unhoused persons exiting the building,” said LAFD spokesperson Margaret Stewart. Firefighters used ladders to assist at least three people from fire escapes. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
By the time firefighters arrived, the fire had engulfed the top floor of the four-story building. Due to the intensity of the flames and a partial roof collapse, crews were unable to fully extinguish the fire from inside. Instead, they adopted a defensive approach, monitoring the building overnight for potential flare-ups. K-9 units will later search the top floor for any human remains once it is deemed safe to enter.
The nearly 50,000-square-foot building had already been red-tagged by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety before the fire. Officials will now assess whether the structure can be salvaged, which will determine the future of AHF’s affordable housing project.
Henry Diltz, the photographer behind the iconic Morrison Hotel album cover, expressed sadness over the fire. “I hope somebody will rebuild it,” he told CBS News Los Angeles. In a 2020 Facebook post, Diltz recounted the story behind the famous photo, explaining how The Doors quickly entered the hotel lobby without permission to capture the shot before being asked to leave. “We got out of there, and nobody caught us,” he recalled.
Aerial footage from Thursday showed thick smoke billowing above the downtown Los Angeles skyline. The fire prompted road closures, including Pico Boulevard near the intersection of Pico and Hope Street, as authorities urged commuters to avoid the area.
The Morrison Hotel remains an enduring symbol of rock history, and the fire has left many hoping for its restoration. For now, the building’s fate—and the future of its redevelopment—remains uncertain.
Source: cbsnews.com