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Home to Hollywood and situated at the edge of the country right up against the glistening Pacific Ocean, Los Angeles represents the promise of futurity: fortune and fame, health and beauty, sunshine and open space. But as with all things, these positive dreams mean nothing without their opposites. So if you look under the surface of all the city's lightness, you'll find darkness: decaying bulbs on what used to be a neon sign and a neglected lot where a lush lawn has wilted due to drought. The multiplicity of Los Angeles, its penchant for performance and all things macabre, is exactly what lures people in. Hotel Cecil is no exception.