Located on Main Street in Skid Row, the Cecil Hotel opened in 1927. Initially, it was a destination for business travelers and tourists, boasting a marble lobby and stained-glass ceiling. But the Great Depression shattered that dream. As the economy collapsed, the neighborhood surrounding the Cecil descended into poverty and crime. The hotel transitioned from a beacon of luxury to a haven for the desperate.
Yet, the soul of the Cortez—the despair, the transients, the suicides, and the mysteries—belongs to the Cecil. the hotel american horror story