Early Sunday morning, a fire ravaged the historic Hollywood Center Motel located on Sunset Boulevard, leaving one man injured and the two-story building significantly damaged, according to officials from the Los Angeles Fire Department. The fire was reported around 4:30 a.m. and it took more than an hour for 70 firefighters to fully extinguish the flames.
The firefighters encountered a 42-year-old man trapped and calling for assistance from the rooftop; he had managed to escape the building by breaking a window before being rescued, the firefighters said, and he is now hospitalized in fair condition with injuries sustained during his escape, he was not burned, however.
The Los Angeles Fire Department stated that, in addition to the main building, the blaze also spread to two neighboring bungalows, the extent of the damage to these residences has yet to be fully assessed, the department's Arson unit is currently investigating to determine the cause of the fire, and there were no injuries reported among the firefighting personnel.
While the motel had been boarded up and vacant for some time, it was once a film location, famously appearing in the film adaptation of James Ellroy's "L.A. Confidential," the Hollywood Center Motel has been a recognizable site in the area for years, its loss is a piece of Hollywood history that has succumbed to flames, with memories that will survive beyond its charred remnants.
