The Los Angeles Fire Department knocked down a fire Thursday in a vacant downtown building that was formerly the home of the Morrison Hotel, which became famous after it was photographed as the cover art for the 1970 album by seminal L.A. band The Doors.
The structure fire was located on the top floor of the vacant four-story building located at 1246 S Hope St. A total of 17 fire companies and more than 100 firefighters, knocked down the blaze in 1 hour and 37 minutes, the LAFD said. The fire forced the closure of eastbound and westbound traffic on Pico.
No injuries were reported, but crews had to use ground ladders to reach fire escapes and assist unhoused persons that were exiting the vacant structure.
The property had been acquired by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation last year with plans to turn it into 111 units of low-income housing after battling with a developer looking to turn it into a luxury hotel and residential complex.
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The press conferencing announcing the AHF plan to convert the property into affordable housing took place almost exactly a year ago and included Doors drummer John Densmore and photographer Henry Diltz, who shot the album cover.
Diltz and the band snuck into the hotel one day while the clerk was busy (they didn’t have a permit) and took as many photos as possible he could of the foursome — frontman Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger — under the arched “Morrison Hotel” sign in the window before rushing out again.
Morrison Hotel, the band’s fifth studio album, came from Elektra Records and featured the hits “Peace Frog,” “Waiting for the Sun” and “Roadhouse Blues.” The album was released on February 9, 1970, less than 18 months before Morrison would die of an overdose in Paris at age 27.
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