Chelsea in Manhattan in New York County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Chelsea Hotel

Landmarks of New York

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, November 24, 2017

1. Chelsea Hotel Marker

Inscription. Designed by Hubert & Pirrson, the Chelsea was opened in 1884 as one of the City's earliest cooperative apartment houses. It became a hotel about 1905. The florid cast iron balconies were made by the firm of J.B. and J.M. Cornell. Artists and writers who have lived here include Arthur B. Davies, James T. Ferrell, Robert Flaherty, O. Henry, John Sloan, Dylan Thomas, and Thomas Wolfe.

Erected 1962 by New York Community Trust.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1884.

Location. 40° 44.668′ N, 73° 59.809′ W. Marker is in Manhattan, New York, in New York County. It is in Chelsea. Marker is on West 23rd Street west of 7th Avenue, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 222 West 23rd Street, New York NY 10011, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Thomas Wolfe (here, next to this marker); Arthur Miller (here, next to this marker); Dylan Thomas (here, next to this marker); Sir Arthur C. Clarke (here, next to this marker); Shirley Clarke (here, next to this marker); Brendan Behan (here, next to this marker); James Schuyler (here, next to this marker); Virgil Thomson (here, next to this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Manhattan.

Also see . . .
1. Chelsea Hotel (Wikipedia). "The Hotel Chelsea – also

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called the Chelsea Hotel, or simply the Chelsea – is a historic New York City hotel and landmark built between 1883 and 1885, known primarily for the notability of its residents over the years. The 250-unit hotel is located at 222 West 23rd Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, in the neighborhood of Chelsea, Manhattan. The building has been a designated New York City landmark since 1966, and on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977....It has been the home of numerous writers, musicians, artists and actors. Though the Chelsea no longer accepts new long-term residencies, the building is still home to many who lived there before the change in policy. Arthur C. Clarke wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey while staying at the Chelsea, and poets Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso chose it as a place for philosophical and artistic exchange. It is also known as the place where the writer Dylan Thomas was staying in room 205 when he died of pneumonia on November 9, 1953, and where Nancy Spungen, girlfriend of Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols, was found stabbed to death on October 12, 1978. Arthur Miller wrote a short piece, "The Chelsea Affect", describing life at Hotel Chelsea in the early 1960s." (Submitted on December 21, 2017.)

2. Chelsea Hotel's Uncertain Future (YouTube, BBC News, 12/19/2013, 4 min.). "For more than half a century, New York's Chelsea Hotel has been a bastion of Bohemia....Sherill Tippins, author of Inside the Dream Palace: The life and Times of
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, November 24, 2017

2. Chelsea Hotel Marker - Wide View
As noted on the marker, the Chelsea has had a number of noteworthy residents. In addition to those mentioned thereon, a number of other residents have each received their own historical marker. In this photo, above the Chelsea marker are historical markers for Shirley Clarke, Arthur C. Clarke, and Virgil Thompson. Each has (or will have) its own entry in the database.
New York's legendary Chelsea Hotel, spoke to the BBC about this cultural landmark." (Submitted on December 21, 2017.)

3. Patti Smith: Living at the Chelsea Hotel (YouTube, Chicago Humanities Festival, 3 min.). (Submitted on December 21, 2017.)
4. Leonard Cohen - Chelsea Hotel #2 (live performance 1985) (YouTube, 6 min.). I remember you well, in the Chelsea Hotel.... (Submitted on December 21, 2017.)

5. The Chelsea Hotel - 222 West 23rd Street. "Daytonian in Manhattan" replacement entry. (Submitted on April 30, 2020, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

Chelsea Hotel Marker - Wider View image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, November 24, 2017

3. Chelsea Hotel Marker - Wider View

The Chelsea is currently undergoing renovations, hence the scaffolding makes it difficult to see the markers. However, were visibility a bit better, the 4 markers visible in Photo 2 would be visible here to the left of the window that is just to the left of the entrance. In addition to those, 2 more would be visible on the right side of that same window, and an additional 3 would be visible to the right of the entrance.

Chelsea Hotel Marker - Still Wider View, Looking East on W. 23rd St. image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, November 24, 2017

4. Chelsea Hotel Marker - Still Wider View, Looking East on W. 23rd St.

"During its lifetime Hotel Chelsea has provided a home to many famous writers and thinkers including Mark Twain, O. Henry, Herbert Huncke, Dylan Thomas, Arthur C. Clarke, Sam Shepard, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Jack Kerouac (who wrote On the Road there), Brendan Behan, Thomas Wolfe, Valerie Solanas, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Arnold Weinstein, Sharmagne Leland-St. John, Quentin Crisp, Gore Vidal, Robert Hunter, Jack Gantos, Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Charles Bukowski, Jan Cremer, Henk Hofland, Raymond Kennedy, Matthew Richardson, James T. Farrell, Mary Cantwell, Rene Ricard, Brad Gooch and R. K. Narayan....Charles R. Jackson, author of The Lost Weekend, committed suicide in his room on September 21, 1968. Joseph O'Neill and his wife moved there in 1998, and they raised three sons there; the Chelsea Hotel plays a significant role in his novel Netherland." - Wikipedia

The Chelsea Hotel image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Velvet (via Wikimedia Commons under CC license 3.0), May 9, 2012

5. The Chelsea Hotel

"The hotel has been a home to actors and film directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Shirley Clarke, Mitch Hedberg, Dave Hill, Miloš Forman, Lillie Langtry, Ethan Hawke, Dennis Hopper, Eddie Izzard, Uma Thurman, Elliott Gould, Elaine Stritch, Michael Imperioli, Jane Fonda, Russell Brand, the Warhol film star Viva, and Edie Sedgwick." - Wikipedia

Leonard Cohen Plaque image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, November 24, 2017

6. Leonard Cohen Plaque

"Much of the Hotel Chelsea's history has been colored by the musicians who have resided or visited there. Some of the most prominent names include the Grateful Dead, Nico, Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Jim Morrison, Iggy Pop, Virgil Thomson, Chick Corea, Jeff Beck, Dee Dee Ramone, Johnny Thunders, Mink DeVille, Marianne Faithfull, Cher, John Cale, Édith Piaf, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Alice Cooper, Bette Midler, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Canned Heat, Sid Vicious, and Rufus Wainwright. Madonna lived at the Chelsea in the early 1980s, returning in 1992 to shoot photographs for her book, Sex, in room 822. Leonard Cohen, who lived in room 424, and Janis Joplin, in room 411, had an affair there in 1968, and Cohen later wrote two songs about it, 'Chelsea Hotel' and 'Chelsea Hotel #2'." - Wikipedia

Credits. This page was last revised on January 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 21, 2017, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 439 times since then and 61 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on December 21, 2017, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.