Cecil Hotel (Los Angeles)
The Cecil Hotel is an affordable housing complex in Downtown Los Angeles. It opened on December 20, 1924, as a luxury hotel, but declined during the Great Depression and subsequent decades. In 2011, the hotel was renamed the Stay On Main. The 14-floor hotel has 700 guest rooms and a checkered history, with many suicides and accidental or unnatural deaths occurring there. Renovations started in 2017 were halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the hotel's temporary closure. On December 13, 2021, the Cecil Hotel was reinaugurated as an affordable housing complex.
| Cecil Hotel | |
|---|---|
Location within the Los Angeles metropolitan area | |
| General information | |
| Address | 640 S Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90014, United States |
| Coordinates | 34°2′39.04″N 118°15′1.97″W |
| Opening | 1924 |
| Owner | Richard Born |
| Management | Skid Row Housing Trust |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 14 above ground; 1 basement level; 1 mezzanine |
| Lifts/elevators | 2 (installed by the Otis Elevator Company) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Loy Lester Smith |
| Developer | Simon Barron Developments |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 700 |
| Number of suites | 301 |
| Website | |
| Archived official website at the Wayback Machine (archived February 24, 2013) | |
| Built | 1924 |
| Governing body | Private |
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument | |
| Designated | 2016 |
| Reference no. | 1140 |
A 2023 Los Angeles Times article described and photographed the run-down conditions inside the Hotel Cecil, which included black mold and vermin infestations, water leakages, graffiti, vandalism, and unsanitary communal amenities. Many of its low-income residents, including former Skid Row homeless, require ongoing medical, mental health and substance abuse treatment.
In 2024, the owners of the Hotel Cecil, Simon Baron Properties, listed the hotel for sale.