Gentle reader,
The Morrison Hotel was made famous when the Doors dropped by for an album photo shoot, but for Angelenos, it was a modest, respectable home. In the 1990s, new owners turned it into a hell hole, then kicked everyone out. The city let them do it. After almost 20 years boarded up, all 111 rent controlled units are coming back.
How did we get to this Christmas miracle? After a disturbing Spring 2022 incident where then owners Relevant Group invited us down to see that there was "nothing worth preserving," only to reveal that they had illegally gutted the potential National Register landmark with no permits or asbestos remediation, the Morrison Hotel's developer ran into financial trouble.
The happy result is that the AIDS Healthcare Foundation was able to buy the building for a bargain price, and will be restoring it as its proper use of extremely affordable housing in the heart of Los Angeles.
We were there on Tuesday, December 19 for the public celebration of the affordable housing plans for the historic hotel, featuring remarks from photographer Henry Diltz, Doors drummer John Densmore and some of the dedicated staff members who are helping to turn empty, historic Downtown Los Angeles residency hotels back into places where Angelenos can live. Then we went into the long shuttered building to give you a tour of the hotel's great bones, which is part 2 of the video in this post.
Stay tuned for much more happy news from the Morrison Hotel in the months to come. Learn more on our blog at http://www.esotouric.com/morrisonhotel
yours for Los Angeles,
Kim & Richard
Esotouric
Psst… If you’d like to support our efforts to be the voice of places worth preserving, we have a tip jar and a subscriber edition of this newsletter, vintage Los Angeles webinars available to stream, in-person tours and a souvenir shop you can browse in. We’ve also got recommended reading bookshelves on Amazon and the Bookshop indie bookstore site. And did you know we offer private versions of our walking and bus tours for groups big or small? Or just share this link with other people who care.
UPCOMING BUS & WALKING TOURS
• Human Sacrifice: The Black Dahlia, Elisa Lam, Heidi Planck & Skid Row Slasher Walking Tour (Tues. 12/26) • Evergreen Cemetery, 1877 Walking Tour (Sat. 1/20) • Broadway: Downtown Los Angeles’ Beautiful, Magical Mess Walking Tour (Sat. 1/27) • Bunker Hill, Dead and Alive Walking Tour (Sat. 2/3) • Westlake Park Time Travel Trip Walking Tour (Sat. 2/10) • Angelino Heights & Carroll Avenue Time Travel Trip Walking Tour (Sat. 2/17) • The Real Black Dahlia Crime Bus Tour (Sat. 2/24) • Echo Park Book of the Dead Crime Bus Tour (Sat. 3/9) • Know Your Downtown L.A.: Tunnels To Towers To The Dutch Chocolate Shop Walking Tour (Sat. 3/16) • The Run: Gay Downtown History Walking Tour (Sat. 3/23) • John Fante’s Downtown Los Angeles Birthday Walking Tour (Sat. 4/6)
Morrison Hotel Reborn press conference and interior tour