Historic Morrison Hotel made famous by the Doors erupts in flames in Los Angeles

The former Morrison Hotel in downtown Los Angeles made famous by the Doors erupted in flames on Thursday morning, sustaining a partial roof collapse and putting the structural integrity in doubt.

The four-story building, which has been vacant for more than a decade, burned for nearly two hours and required more than 100 firefighters to get the blaze under control, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

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Built in 1914, the building has become home to squatters in recent years. No injuries have been reported, as several dozen people self-evacuated the structure, including three additional people on the third floor, per the fire department.

Crews remained on fire watch throughout the night to ensure public safety and no flare-ups.

An investigation has been launched to determine what caused the fire, and the future of the historic building will be decided upon by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety.

The former Morrison Hotel was famously featured on the album cover of the Door's fifth studio album of the same name, released in February 1970 by Elektra Records. As the story goes, music photographer Henry Diltz and art director Gary Burden had to get creative with snapping the cover art featuring frontman Jim Morrison after a hotel receptionist prohibited them from taking photos inside of the hotel.

Waiting for the receptionist to take a break, Diltz and co. snuck inside to capture the shot. The rest is history. "It was a great old wooden building with many small rooms upstairs where transients and drinkers could sleep it off on a cot for $2.50 a night!” Diltz told Associated Press on Friday in the wake of the blaze. “I think the beautiful front window with Morrison Hotel in red letters was the best part of it. So did the Doors!”

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Morrison and the rock band also comprised of Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore would go on to release the final album L.A. Woman in 1971 before Morrison died of congestive heart failure that year in Paris. He was 27.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly