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'American Horror Story' Hotel Up For Historic-Cultural Monument Status

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A downtown Los Angeles hotel that inspired a season of "American Horror Story" is being considered for historic-cultural monument status.

The application for historic status for the Hotel Cecil, which has a reputation as being the site for murders, suicide and macabre mystery, was approved in December.

The Cultural Heritage Commission said it was a representative example of the early 20th century American hotel industry and that its designer, Loy L. Smith, was an important architect of his time.

The Planning and Land Use Management Committee will decide Tuesday if it wants to recommend approving the application, which will then be forwarded to the full City Council for a vote.

The building at 640 S. Main St. was called the Hotel Cecil for most of its existence since it was built in 1924, but was recently rebranded the Stay on Main.

When the hotel and the neighborhood near Skid Row hit hard times in the Great Depression, it became known to long-term residents and locals as "The Suicide" due to the high number of people who killed themselves there, including some who jumped out of the windows.

Serial killers Richard Ramirez and Jack Unterweger also stayed at the hotel temporarily, adding to its macabre legacy. The hotel also has a long history of murders committed in its rooms.

The hotel made headlines around the world in 2013 when 21-year-old Canadian Elisa Lam disappeared after checking in. Elevator surveillance video showed Lam acting disoriented and as if she was trying to hide from someone while the elevator appeared to be malfunctioning.

Lam was found dead a few weeks later in the building's rooftop water tank, naked with her clothes floating in the water. Guests had complained about low water pressure and the water tasting funny, which had led maintenance workers to investigate the water tank. The coroner ruled her death an accident. The mysterious death brought new attention to the hotel.

(©2017 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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