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Los Angeles: AHF Sues City to Stop Demolition of Historic Morrison Hotel
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation and its housing division sued the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Building and Safety today, challenging the city's move to declare the 1913 Morrison Hotel a "public nuisance" and put its demolition out to bid. A Zoom press conference is set for 1:00 p.m. PT.
Why it matters
The Morrison Hotel is a 1913 single-room-occupancy building in downtown Los Angeles, made world-famous by The Doors' 1970 self-titled album cover photographed by Henry Diltz. AHF acquired it in December 2023 with plans to rehabilitate it as low-income housing; the city has now declared it a "public nuisance" and put demolition out to bid, and the dispute is headed to court — a flashpoint for LA's historic-preservation and homelessness-housing debates.
The lawsuit
AHF and its Healthy Housing Foundation filed for a writ of mandate (Case No. 26STCP03858) asking the court to set aside the decisions that the Morrison Hotel, at 1246 South Hope Street, is a public nuisance and should be demolished. AHF Deputy General Counsel Jonathan Eisenberg said AHF was not notified before the city considered the determination, adding that AHF "strongly suspects that the City of Los Angeles is implementing an illegal plan to demolish the Morrison Hotel" to block its rehabilitation as low-income housing.
The building suffered a fire on December 26, 2024, possibly set by squatters. AHF President Michael Weinstein accused the city of dragging its feet on rehabilitation permits and called the city's stance toward nonprofit housing providers "almost spiteful." AHF holds a Zoom press teleconference at 1:00 p.m. PT today with Weinstein and other senior officials.
Full report
Mayor Karen Bass's Inside Safe homelessness program has cost the city over $300 million, placing only about 5,800 people while the city estimates 45,000 homeless individuals, according to AHF's release. The Morrison Hotel case is the latest battleground between City Hall and nonprofit housing providers.
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