Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
There was a lot of gossip about the residents at the front desk, and I found that
fact interesting because I was both a resident and an employee. In the hotel life,
whatever shenanigans you were up to, your life served as entertainment for the
people at the front desk. This guy or that woman would burn out or do this crazy
thing, and people who worked there would gossip.
But one desk clerk, Herman, wasn't like that. He would always come down
on anyone who would gossip at the desk. He would tell me we weren't here at
the hotel to gossip, and gossip was beneath us, because
everyone
had something
going on. It was better to have a little class and not talk about other people. I al-
waysthoughtthatheactually hadagoodoutlookongivingpeoplesomeprivacy.
Theyalsohadafewdeskclerkswhoweregayandsortoffastidious,andthey
did a good job at the hotel. And the Head Desk Clerk was Stanley's brother-in-
law. His name was Jerry Weinstein.
JULIE EAKIN
Jerrywasamazing—hereallymadeyoufeelsafeandwelcome.Havingsomeone
give you your mail every day was this gracious thing.
JERRY WEINSTEIN
For years, I used to give tours of the hotel—many, many years. I still do period-
ically, but only part-time because I'm old and tired. That was my own thing—I
wasanindependentcontractor.Iworkedforthe92ndStreetYMCA,givingtours
of the hotel. During the tours, we would visit five or six artists' studios, walk
through the hotel, go up on the roof, and I'd tell people the whole history of the
place.
When we visited the artists' studios, we would talk to the artists about their
work.Dependingonwholivedthereatthetime,wewentthroughDeKooning's
85
old studio, and John Sloan's old studio. We'd go through Thomas Wolfe's old
apartment, and Arthur C. Clarke's.
ROBERT CAMPBELL
On Sunday afternoons, Jerry gave tours of the Chelsea to straights who didn't
live in the Chelsea. One time, I was with this artist friend of Jerry's, whose name
I don't recall. We were hanging out in his room, and he got this phone call from
Jerry. Jerry wanted his friend to pretend he was one of the more famous “artists”
featured in his tour that was beginning in twenty minutes!
Not every artist appreciated being “showcased” to tourists at the Chelsea.
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