Pictured in 1963 in Perma Prest trousers and a crisp white
shirt, is Dodgers' star pitcher Sandy Koufax at his way-cool financial
investment, Sandy Koufax's Tropicana Motel. Koufax's name on the
sign brought lots of new business to the declining motor lodge, but it was the location
that, in the mid-60s onward, attracted its most famous guests. The Trop was
within a stone's throw of the Hollywood rock venues and studios, and soon this
family-oriented motel was anything but. From 1964 onward,
the Trop functioned as a Boho playground, pioneered by Jim
Morrison and the Doors who hung out after hours at the Palms, a low-rent so-called "dyke bar" across
the street. Jim would drink there all night before stumbling "home" to the
Trop, or to Duke's Coffee Shop in its lobby. 
Waves of musicians arrived over
the years: Janis Joplin, Van Morrison, Eddie Cochran, the Beach Boys, Tom
Waits, Led Zeppelin, William S. Burroughs; Frank Zappa’s Freak Outs were
legendary. Over the years, the motel became the site of innumerable photo sessions and band
interviews, and served as the location for the Andy Warhol films Heat and
Trash. In the late 70s and 80s, new punk faces found their way into the motel
and the greasy, affordable, open 24 hours, Duke's—Iggy and the Stooges,
Blondie, the Go Go's, the Clash. (Woah, from Koufax
to Morrison and Warhol in one degree of separation. Small world.)

![]() |
The Go Go's, 1979 |

.jpg)
![]() |
Top: Joan Jet at the Trop; Above: Room 32 |
Morrison switched digs in 1968 for the Alta Cienega near
Santa Monica Blvd., adjacent to his fave strip club, The Phone Booth, and
across from the Doors’ Workshop and Barney's Beanery. Unlike the Trop, the Alta
Cienega is still there (1005 N. La Cienega Blvd.).
From 1968 to 1970, the Alta Cienega served as Jim’s perennial residence (seemingly
anytime he’d had a fight with Pamela Courson), and he’d trip around between his
room (No. 32), Barney's, the Doors’ Workshop and Monaco liquors, each within
stumbling distance. If you're even in L.A. and thinking about visiting Jim's room (indeed staying there), make
sure you watch the Jim Morrison produced film HWY. In one of the final scenes,
No. 32 is featured, in which Morrison is shown urinating; with that image in
mind, don’t go to the Alta Cienega for the luxury accommodations; there is a
definite ambiance that permeates the Alta Cienega, yet it is far removed from
elegance or even comfort.
![]() |
Inside Room 32 today |