the Firehouse Hotel – LA

Once a rundown area of abandoned warehouses and derelict factories in Downtown L.A., the area found new life in the 1970s when artists flocked here in search of large, inexpensive spaces they could use as studios, ensuring the preservation of many historic, early 20th century buildings that would otherwise have been torn down.
Housed in a converted 1927 fire station, the Firehouse Hotel is a nine-room boutique establishment that opened its doors in April of this year, the brainchild of hospitality entrepreneur Dustin Lancaster, the hotel is a love letter to the city of L.A., nostalgically embracing its storied past while dynamically embodying its burgeoning present, courtesy of local interior design studio ETC.etera whose eclectic, narrative-driven renovation imbued the century-old building with a funky playfulness.
Comprising a new restaurant, bar, café and retail shop, Firehouse Hotel not only celebrates the building’s iconic architectural status, but also pays homage to the fire station’s community-centric role by re-inventing itself . The result is an palimpsest-like, retro-industrial interior where layers of patterns, textures, artwork and custom fixtures, whimsically co-exist with an eclectically curated collection of vintage furniture and contemporary pieces.