Morrison Hotel (Los Angeles, California)

USA / California / Vernon / Los Angeles, California / South Hope Street, 1246
 hotel, place with historical importance, interesting place
1246 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015

The Doors' foray into mainstream pop with Soft Parade having been a commercial disappointment, the album they were completing in late 1969 was to be a return to their roots, decidedly more gritty, keeping it real. The graphic design team of Gary Burden and Henry Diltz was working with the idea of using a skid row dive, the Hard Rock Café in downtown L.A., as a location and for the general motif, possibly using the joint for the title of the new album..
Ray Manzarek's wife had spotted a funky old flop house called "Morrison," just east of the new Convention Center. It seemed to fit the desired moodiness, like some sort of heartbreak hotel.
Diltz, Manzarek and Morrison got the other two band members and showed up unannounced at the seemingly deserted hotel for an impromptu shoot. The young fellow behind the desk had never heard of these guys (the Doors) and said they definitely could not take any pictures. Diltz and the band were standing around out on the sidewalk wondering what else they might do for a shoot when they noticed that the elevator light had come on in the lobby of the hotel.
They saw the desk clerk disappear into the lift, heading for some where in the upper floors.
In a flash, Diltz had the Doors run back into the lobby and assume various poses in the window while he shot a roll of film from out on the street. By the time the hotel guy returned, Diltz and the Doors were gone, along with their roll of exposed film.
The white fluorescent light in the lobby showing the elevator to be in use is visible in the background, just beneath the letters SON in "Morrison."
VIDE:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G24jQZtws4
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Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrison_Hotel
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Coordinates:   34°2'22"N   118°15'54"W

Comments

  • The Doors' best album, in my opinion.
This article was last modified 10 years ago