![]() In January of 1945 she was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Purcell was later arrested and charged with the murder of her child. Not wanting to wake Levine, she tossed the infant out of a window where it landed on the roof of an adjacent building. Unaware that she was pregnant, Purcell went into labor, giving birth to a baby boy. On September of 1944, 19 year old Dorothy Jean Purcell was sharing a room with her boyfriend Ben Levine. The sign from the Roseland at 833 Spring Street is still there.ĭuring the depression years of 1930’s the Cecil gained a reputation as the “Suicide Hotel,” There were six suicides at the hotel during the decade. Then came the Great Depression of 1929 and the Cecil and its surrounding area fell on hard times. ![]() A visitor could buy a drink at one of downtown’s speakeasies and for ten cents a dance find companionship at places like the Roseland, one of LA’s taxi dance halls. Prohibition made liquor illegal, but alcohol still flowed into the city through Canada and Mexico. Local businesses hired attractive young women to try and lure male clientele. In the 1920’s hotels in downtown Los Angeles catered to businessmen visiting from out of town. It was 14 stories tall and had 700 rooms. Her death was one of many that have occurred at the Cecil over the years. The hotel has always attracted ghost hunters and footage from the video caused many to believe that either Lam was a victim of paranormal activity or she was murdered. No one knows for sure how she ended up in the water tank. Her family also confirmed that she was bi polar and taking medications for her condition. Lam’s death was ruled an accidental drowning. ![]() Lam was last seen in a security video in the hotel’s elevator where she seemed to be acting erratically, pushing several buttons and speaking to someone that either wasn’t there or could not be seen. The Chinese Canadian tourist was a guest of the hotel and had been missing for three weeks. ![]() In one of the tanks he discovered the body of 21 year old Elisa Lam. On Februafter receiving complaints from guests about low water pressure and water that tasted funny, a maintenance worker at the Cecil went on the rooftop to investigate the hotel’s water tanks. The shows creators were inspired by the many strange incidents and dark history of the Hotel Cecil. Los Angeles – A supernatural hotel in Los Angeles? American Horror Story chose this as its premise for the fifth season of the popular cable series. ![]()
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