A new coffee table book is documenting the remaining inhabitants of Hotel Chelsea, the iconic New York City hotel where Andy Warhol, Patti Smith and a parade of other American other icons worked and played during the 1960s and 70s.
‘Hotel Chelsea: Living in the Last Bohemian Haven’ is a colorful celebration of 19 current residents who currently live in the 12-story, 250-room Gilded Age building in downtown Manhattan.
The book’s authors, Colin Miller and Ray Mock, say they weren’t expecting the famous building to still be so vibrant, given that its heyday was a half century ago.
‘I went into this thinking I was making some kind of eulogy, recording something that was being lost. But I discovered that while there are huge portions of the hotel that were gutted, it´s still a living place, with vibrant amazing lives being lived there,’ Miller told Associated Press.
After much legal wrangling and a few changes of building ownership, between 50 and 60 people still live in the Chelsea, a national historic landmark in the Chelsea neighborhood.
Cinematographer Tony Notarberardino is one of current residents whose story and living space is documented in the new tome
Notarberardino’s apartment is filled with ‘wondrous objects, photographs, furniture, and garments’, much of which has been inherited from previous tenants
A colorful room inside the apartment of cinematographer Tony Notarberardino is pictured
A new coffee table book is documenting the remaining inhabitants of Hotel Chelsea, the iconic New York City hotel where Andy Warhol, Patti Smith and a parade of other American other icons worked and played during the 1960s and 70s
Miller calls it ‘a story of resilience, an exploration of how people adapt in New York City.’
Hotel Chelsea, first built between 1884 and 1885, became known internationally in the 1950s as the hangout spot for Beat writers Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg.
In the 1960s, artists including Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock frequented the establishment, as did a number of iconic musicians – including Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Marianne Faithful.
Another resident, Suzanne Lipschutz, has lived in her one- bedroom apartment since the 1990s, where she helps keep the building’s creative spirit alive
Suzanne Bartsch is another tenant whose home is feature in the pages of ”Hotel Chelsea: Living in the Last Bohemian Haven’
Bartsch is an event producer whose monthly parties at the Copacabana in the late 1980s made her an icon of New York night life
Leonard Cohen and Janis Joplin both lived at the hotel in the late 1960s, where they conducted an affair, which was later the subject of Cohen’s hit song, Chelsea Hotel #2.
Meanwhile, Sex Pistols rocker Sid Vicious also resided at the establishment with girlfriend Nancy Stungeon, before she was found stabbed to death inside their apartment in 1978.
Vicious was charged with her murder, but died of an overdose before he went on trial.
The drama didn’t stop the hotel from continuing to be attract a number of other stars – with Madonna, Jane Fonda and Russell Brand all having resided in the hotel in the past few decades.
Feminist author Germainne Greer is pictured outside the hotel in 1972
The bod of Nancy Stungeon is seen being removed from the Hotel Chelsea following her stabbing in 1978. Her Sex Pistols star boyfriend Sid Vicious was charged with her murder
New York police escort British punk rock musician Sid Vicious after he was charged with stabbing Nancy Stungeon to death inside Hotel Chelsea
Andy Warhol and Patti Smith became associated with the hotel in the 1960s
Meanwhile, the new book examines the quirky apartments of 19 of the residents. who still remain living inside the iconic building.
‘I’m not sure I could see myself living in some of these situations, but they’re really beautiful,’ Miller stated about the unique living spaces.
‘It seems like every door that opens enters into a whole different world.’
Cinematographer Tony Notarberardino is one of current residents whose story and living space is documented in the new tome.
His apartment consists of two rooms joined by a colorfully painted curved hallway, and is one of the most visually arresting apartments featured in the book.
Notarberardino’s apartment is filled with ‘wondrous objects, photographs, furniture, and garments’, much of which has been inherited from previous tenants.
Of the first time he set eyes on his space, Notarberardino told the authors: ‘I walked in and immediately loved it. I felt like I had walked into a movie set’.
Another resident, Suzanne Lipschutz, has lived in her one- bedroom apartment since the 1990s, where she helps keep the building’s creative spirit alive.
The antiques dealer and wallpapers expert once shared a wall with neighbor Ethan Hawke, before the actor moved out several years ago.
Suzanne Bartsch is another tenant whose home is feature in the pages of ”Hotel Chelsea: Living in the Last Bohemian Haven’.
Bartsch is an event producer whose monthly parties at the Copacabana in the late 1980s made her an icon of New York night life
Her apartment features patterned wallpaper in eye-catching shades of lavender and hot pink.
The book’s other big takeaway is Hotel Chelsea’s sense of community, particularly unusual in a big city like New York.
‘Some of that is lost, but there are so many stories of dinner parties attended by all the residents on an entire floor, of people who always left their doors open and neighbors who were also good friends,’ says Mock.
‘After hearing all these stories, I asked myself what I can do in my life to foster a sense of community, with maybe shared gatherings on the rooftop, or other ways to reach out to neighbors,’ he says.
While it remains to be seen when and whether Hotel Chelsea will open to a mix of new tenants and hotel guests, as was planned at one time, Miller and Mock say everyone featured in the book will be able to remain there.
‘And some are raising kids, so there´s another generation growing up in Hotel Chelsea,’ Miller says. ‘Its story is continuing.’