The Haunting Legacy of the Cecil Hotel: From Opulence to Infamy

Nestled in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, the Cecil Hotel is a monument to the Roaring Twenties’ opulence and the dark underbelly of human nature. Opened in 1924 by hotelier William Banks Hanner, the Cecil was intended to be a destination for international businessmen and social elites. However, the onset of the Great Depression just two years later cast a shadow over the hotel’s fortunes, setting it on a path of decline and infamy.

Over the decades, Cecil has been the site of numerous suicides, murders, and mysterious deaths. From the tragic suicide of Dorothy Jean Purcell in 1944, who threw her newborn son out of a window, to the chilling case of Elisa Lam, whose body was found in a water tank on the hotel’s roof in 2013, the Cecil has become synonymous with tragedy and horror.

The hotel’s dark history also includes its association with some of the most notorious figures in American crime. Serial killer Richard Ramirez, known as the “Night Stalker,” lived in a room on the top floor of the Cecil during his killing spree in the mid-1980s. The hotel’s proximity to Skid Row and its reputation as a haven for the down-and-out made it a magnet for crime and violence.

Despite its troubled past, the Cecil has attempted to reinvent itself recently. In 2011, it was rebranded as the Stay On Main Hotel and Hostel, a budget hotel for tourists. However, the ghosts of its past continue to haunt the building, and the Cecil remains a place of fascination and fear for many.