The Los Angeles Hearth Division knocked down a fireplace Thursday in a vacant downtown constructing that was previously the house of the Morrison Resort, which grew to become well-known after it was photographed as the quilt artwork for the 1970 album by seminal L.A. band The Doorways.
The construction hearth was positioned on the highest flooring of the vacant four-story constructing positioned at 1246 S Hope St. A complete of 17 hearth firms and greater than 100 firefighters, knocked down the blaze in 1 hour and 37 minutes, the LAFD stated. The fireplace compelled the closure of eastbound and westbound visitors on Pico.
No accidents had been reported, however crews had to make use of floor ladders to succeed in hearth escapes and help unhoused individuals that had been exiting the vacant construction.
The property had been acquired by the AIDS Healthcare Basis final 12 months with plans to show it into 111 items of low-income housing after battling with a developer seeking to flip it right into a luxurious lodge and residential complicated.
The press conferencing saying the AHF plan to transform the property into inexpensive housing occurred virtually precisely a 12 months in the past and included Doorways drummer John Densmore and photographer Henry Diltz, who shot the album cowl.
Diltz and the band snuck into the lodge sooner or later whereas the clerk was busy (they didn’t have a allow) and took as many photographs as doable he might of the foursome — frontman Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger — beneath the arched “Morrison Resort” signal within the window earlier than speeding out once more.
Morrison Resort, the band’s fifth studio album, got here from Elektra Data and featured the hits “Peace Frog,” “Ready for the Solar” and “Roadhouse Blues.” The album was launched on February 9, 1970, lower than 18 months earlier than Morrison would die of an overdose in Paris at age 27.
