Honestly, it was not quite like I imagined. I was full of expectations. I was expecting to see an inspiring, colorful and fascinating interior. Instead, I found a flophouse-like place. Only the numerous works of art in the lobby reminded me that I was in the right location.
I had no, “Where have you been for so long? Come move in!” feeling. Instead, it was like the end of a party; when the music has stopped and the guests, suffering from hangovers, collect glasses.
For some reason, it still captured my imagination, and whenever I was nearby, I had to go there. I naturally took photos of both the interior and the exterior. I could not get stop thinking about it.
The story of the Chelsea Hotel started in 1883. The building itself was exceptional. With its 12 floors, it was the tallest building in NYC. During this time it was operating as a co-op apartment house, soon after it became a hotel.
Artists discovered the Chelsea Hotel relatively quickly. In the early1900s, 23rd street was a part of New York’s theater district, which later moved to the Broadway. Moreover, this part of the city is close to the harbor where the majority of immigrants arrived. The Chelsea Hotel became the very first home for many upon entering the US.
One of the owners, David Bard of Jewish descent and his wife, immigrated from Tyukod to the US in 1920. First, they lived in the Bronx. David started working in the hotel industry, and in 1939 they bought the hotel with two other Hungarian families. Bard was not only one of the owners, but he also managed it.
The explanation goes back to sometime in the early 1800s when the philosopher Charles Fourier outlined what he thought was the condition for an ideal society, which is key to the path to individual happiness. According to him, ‘phalanxes’ were the solution: a society based on communal associations of producers residing under one roof. The key was caring, solidarity, full acceptance and helping one another. He envisioned a utopian social unit where the poor and rich live in peace. There have been several attempts to accomplish this in the United States, which unfortunately never proved viable in the long run. Yet the Chelsea Hotel is a modern-day depiction of this idea, which we can say is a success story, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Bard family.
Bard carried on with this concept and started to build a community where writers, artists and musicians also found a home. The idea of the Chelsea Hotel was built on the lack of prejudices and maximum tolerance.
The building itself was designed to accommodate artists. The top floor was equipped with small studios with giant windows and private nooks to provide undisturbed privacy for the artists. The gist of Fourier’s concept was cooperation, and this function was supported by the lobby, the dining rooms, the rooftop garden and the wide corridors where guests could gather for a chat.
David’s son Stanley grew up in the hotel. Naturally, after his father died in 1963, he took over the hotel. Stanley was a real curator who understood people very well. He selected each resident carefully. He often declined to host paying guests to make room for esteemed artists who would reside for free or little money, sometimes for many years. He behaved like a teenager, left behind for the weekend. He was a little overwhelmed by the secret house party he had organized. He tried to rationalize the wild party scene at the hotel. The residents’ unbridled creativity and self-destructive nature proved it to be a hopeless venture.
Lots of talented people lived and worked together. Almost everyone turned up there who was an important artist in New York from the 1950s to the 90s. Exceptional personalities attracted each other. Who wouldn’t have wanted to be Arthur Miller’s neighbor or run into Bob Dylan in one of the two ever-failing elevators? Because even at that time, the hotel was not to be thought of as a shimmering, freshly cleaned, fragrant refuge.
As revenue maximization was not the most important operating principle, many times cleanliness and equipment left something to be desired.
The Bard family created a world where no rules that worked elsewhere applied. As Arthur Miller remarked, “This hotel does not belong to America. There are no vacuum cleaners, no rules and no shame.”
What is the connection between the Chelsea Hotel and Hungary?
Why was the Chelsea different from other hotels?
What was life like at the Chelsea Hotel?
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