Los Angeles’ historic Morrison Hotel, made famous by the Doors‘ 1970 album of the same name, was destroyed by a fire on Thursday (December 26th). The 110-year-old, four-story residence had previously sat vacant for more than a decade, though dozens of squatters were occupying the building at the time of the fire. Everyone on the premises was evacuated safely, with no injuries reported. Morrison Hotel was the Doors fifth studio album, featuring the classic rock hits “Roadhouse Blues” and “Peace Frog.” The iconic cover art for Morrison Hotel was photographed by Henry Diltz, and features frontman Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore inside the hotel, looking out through the lobby window. “The Doors didn’t have permission to take pictures, so when the lobby was empty, they ran in quickly and sat behind the window,” Diltz recounted about the cover shoot back in 2020. “One roll of film shot before we got asked to leave.” (Consequence of Sound)
