Hotel Cecil, after dark
An exterior photograph of the Cecil hotel building at night.
Photographs supplied by Vincent J. Esposito
Read the historical background
Hotel Cecil: a downtown building beyond its reputation
Los Angeles’s historic designation documentation identifies the Hotel Cecil at 640 South Main Street as a 1924 building. The exterior belongs to the development of downtown accommodation during a period of urban and commercial growth. Its scale and facade make it part of the architectural record of Main Street.
The building later became widely associated with sensational accounts of crime and tragedy. An exterior photograph is better used to begin with what can be documented: the building, its date, its setting and its place in downtown history. It does not establish stories about individual rooms, unexplained events or paranormal activity. Architectural history gives the photograph a firmer foundation than rumor.
Historical sources: Read the source