Downtown L.A.’s Cecil Hotel, subject of Netflix crime doc, is up for sale
Austin Turner
An infamous downtown Los Angeles hotel, placed in the spotlight after a Netflix documentary chronicled its creepy past, is up for sale.
As first reported by real estate news outlet The Real Deal, the Cecil Hotel has been listed on LoopNet with no asking price attached.
The 159,803-square-foot, 15-story building contains 601 units. The building, located at 640 South Main Street, is designated as a historical landmark.
The catch? The Cecil Hotel, at one time a world-renowned place of luxury, is now notoriously known for its bloody, violent and outright creepy history. So much so that L.A. tour guides have lovingly referred to the hotel as “the place where serial killers stay.”
The reputation was broadcast to an even wider audience in 2021 when a Netflix-distributed documentary series titled “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel” hit the mainstream.
The four-part series followed the story of 21-year-old Elisa Lam, whose naked, bloated body was discovered in a water tank on the rooftop of the hotel in 2013.
LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — The Canadian woman last seen at a downtown hotel nearly three weeks ago was found dead in a water tank at the top of the building Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times is reporting.
An autopsy is expected on Thursday on the body of a Canadian tourist who was found inside a water tank at the Cecil Hotel.
A visitor arrives at the hotel Cecil on Wednesday Feb. 20,2013 where police say the body of a woman was found wedged in one of the water tanks on the roof was that of a missing Canadian guest. Investigators used body markings to identify 21-year-old Elisa Lam, police spokeswoman Officer Diana Figueroa said late Tuesday. A maintenance worker at the Cecil Hotel found the body earlier in the day after guests complained of low water pressure. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
This Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 photo shows water tanks on the roof of the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. Canadian tourist Elisa Lam had been missing for about two weeks when officials at the Cecil Hotel found her body in a water cistern on the hotel roof. Guest complaints about low water pressure prompted a maintenance worker to make the gruesome discovery Tuesday, and officials were trying to determine if the 21-year-old was killed or if her death was a bizarre accident. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A photocopy showing Elisa Lam of Canada is displayed at a street memorial across the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. Lam, a Canadian tourist, who was last seen last month. Los Angels Police say the body of a woman was found wedged in one of the water tanks on the roof was that of a missing Canadian guest. Investigators used body markings to identify 21-year-old Elisa Lam, police spokeswoman Officer Diana Figueroa said late Tuesday. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The infamous Hotel Cecil in Los Angeles, California is seen on Feb. 28, 2017
(MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)
This Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 photo shows water tanks on the roof of the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles. Canadian tourist Elisa Lam had been missing for about two weeks when officials at the Cecil Hotel found her body in a water cistern on the hotel roof. Guest complaints about low water pressure prompted a maintenance worker to make the gruesome discovery Tuesday, and officials were trying to determine if the 21-year-old was killed or if her death was a bizarre accident. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Two men pass by the front of the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. Canadian tourist Elisa Lam had been missing for about two weeks when officials at the Cecil Hotel found her body in a water cistern on the hotel roof. Guest complaints about low water pressure prompted a maintenance worker to make the gruesome discovery Tuesday, and officials were trying to determine if the 21-year-old was killed or if her death was a bizarre accident. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Water tanks seen on the roof of the Hotel Cecil in a Wednesday Feb. 20,2013 file photo. Police say the body of a missing Canadian woman was found Tuesday at the bottom of one of four cisterns on the roof of the hotel. The tanks provide water for hotel taps and would have been used by guests for washing and drinking. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials were expected to release the results of tests on the water on Thursday, Feb. 21. Investigators used body markings to identify 21-year-old Elisa Lam, police spokeswoman Officer Diana Figueroa said late Tuesday. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)
The Canadian woman last seen at a downtown hotel nearly three weeks ago was found dead in a water tank at the top of the building Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times is reporting.
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The case caught the eye of internet crime detectives and further cemented the legacy of the Cecil Hotel.
Since 2021, the building has operated as affordable housing for unhoused people in Los Angeles.
