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The building that now houses the Hotel Chelsea was built in 1883 as a private apartment cooperative and opened in 1884. It was the tallest building in New York until 1902.
At the time Chelsea, and particularly 23rd Street, on which the hotel is located (near the intersection of 7th Avenue), was the center of New York's Theater District. Within a few years, a combination of economic worries and the theatres' relocation, had driven the Chelsea cooperative bankrupt. In 1905, the building was purchased and opened as a hotel.
The Hotel has always been a centre of artistic and bohemian activity. It is perhaps most well known as the hotel where Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols allegedly stabbed his girlfriend Nancy Spungen to death.
During its lifetime Hotel Chelsea has provided a home to many great writers and thinkers including Mark Twain, O. Henry, Dylan Thomas, Arthur C. Clarke, William S. Burroughs, Gregory CorsoGregory Corso ( March 26, 1930 January 17, 2001) was an American poet, the fourth member of the canon of Beat Generation writers (with Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs). Incarcerated in Dannemora for burglary in 1947, Gregory Corso dove into literature, a, Leonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen (born September 21, 1934 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian poet, novelist and singer/songwriter and is best known for the latter. Cohen's lyrics are often emotionally heavy and lyrically complex, owing more to the metaphoric word pla, Arthur MillerArthur Miller (born October 17, 1915) is an American playwright. Chronology Monroe and Miller on the set of The Misfits October 17, 1915: Arthur Asher Miller born in New York to Polish Jewish immigrants Isadore and Augusta. They have two other children, K, Quentin CrispQuentin Crisp ( December 25, 1908 November 21, 1999), born Denis Pratt became a gay icon in the 1970s after being one of the first men to come unashamedly out of the closet. Known for his clever and often insightful witticisms, Crisp authored several book, Gore VidalCarl Van Vechten, 1948 Eugene Luther Gore Vidal better known as Gore Vidal (born October 3, 1925), is a well-known American writer of novels, plays, and essays, who would once have been called a " man of letters". Biography Vidal was born at the United St, Tennessee WilliamsThomas Lanier Williams ( March 26, 1911 February 25, 1983), better known by the pen name Tennessee Williams was a noted playwright. The nickname "Tennessee" was given to him by schoolmates in St. Louis for his southern accent. He won the Pulitzer Prize fo, Allen GinsbergAllen Ginsberg ( June 3, 1926 April 5 1997) was a gay American Beat poet born in Paterson, New Jersey. He formed a bridge between the Beat movement of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s, befriending, among others, Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, William S, Brendan BehanBrendan Behan ( 9 February, 1923- 20 March, 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also a committed Irish Republican. Behan was one of the most successful Irish dramatists of the 20, Robert Oppenheimer, Jean-Paul Sartre and feminist great Simone de Beauvoir. The hotel has always been a home to actors and film directors such as, Stanley Kubrick, Milos Forman, Lily Langtree , Dennis Hopper and Jane Fonda.
Much of Hotel Chelsea's history has been colored by the musicians who have resided there. Some of the most prominent names include Patti Smith, Dee Dee Ramone of The Ramones, Henri Chopin, John Cale, Edith Piaf, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jobriath. The hotel has featured in and collected the work of the many visual artists who have passed through. Brett Whiteley, Christo, Richard Bernstein , Robert Mapplethorpe, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Robert Crumb, Jasper Johns, Claes Oldenburg, and Henri Cartier-Bresson have all spent time at Hotel Chelsea.
Hotel Chelsea is often associated with the Warhol superstars. Chelsea residents from the Warhol scene included Viva, Ultra Violet , Holly Woodlawn , Edie Sedgwick, Andrea Feldman, Nico of the Velvet Underground, Paul America and Brigid Berlin.
Much of an episode of the groundbreaking 1973 PBS reality-television series An American Family was filmed at the Hotel Chelsea, as family member Lance Loud was staying there at the time.
The hotel was the first building to be listed by New York City as a cultural preservation site and historic building of note.
The hotel was used for location shooting on
Most notably, the hotel provided the thematic link for the Andy Warhol film opus
The hotel is also featured in numerous songs, inlcuding:
Downstairs from Hotel Chelsea is a cozy bar, Serena.