Fire sweeps through LA's iconic Morrison Hotel, where The Doors album cover photo was taken

On Thursday, a fire on the top floor of the iconic Morrison Hotel in downtown Los Angeles ended up ravaging this iconic building, which among other things served as the cover for the self-titled album by the legendary band The Doors in 1970. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), the fire started on the top floor and was completely extinguished by firefighters and no injuries were reported

However, one of the most iconic buildings in the city of Los Angeles and in the history of rock music was lost

The fire started on the morning after Christmas, at around 11:00 local time, on the fourth floor of the nearly 100-year-old building on S. Hope Street. Firefighters reported that the blaze was complicated when the flames sent a thick plume of smoke into the air.

he former hotel was planned to be converted into a homeless shelter and also as an affordable housing unit for city dwellers

They also cordoned off the premises surrounding the abandoned hotel. It is not known if there were people inside or the cause of the fire

Firefighters are "deploying master streams through ladder pipes and wagon batteries on fire trucks. Crews placed ground ladders on the fire escapes to help homeless people out of the vacant structure," the LAFD reported.

This was the Morrison Hotel, the iconic building in downtown Los Angeles

The history of the Morrison Hotel dates back to 1914, but its most iconic moment was in 1970, when Jim Morrison posed for the iconic cover of his self-titled album, released in February 1970.

The photographs were the work of Henry Diltz, who created the iconic five-minute photographic sequence, which ended when a hotel employee prevented them from entering the premises.

After years of neglect, authorities decided to demolish the old hotel to make way for a new luxury hotel. However, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation bought the building in early December for $11.9 million to prevent it from being demolished and converted into a shelter and housing area for low-income people.