Checking In - This Ain't no Holiday Inn: Down and Out at the Chelsea Hotel 1980-1995 - page 5

TheunburnableChelseaHotelwasbuiltin1883duringthegreatsurgeoftheIndustrial
Revolution,atimeofopulence,ostentationandrobberbarons.Infact,MarkTwain(maybe
during his own nights at the Chelsea?) coined the period “The Gilded Age.”
The Chelsea still bears traces of these lavish times. At the time it was built, it was New
York's tallest building, towering over the city at an awe-inspiring twelve floors. It was not
designed to be a hotel, but a “co-op,” similar to today's condominium complexes, where
peoplecouldpurchasetheirunitsandownthem.Butwhatunits!Theapartments,especially
those on the top floors, were enormous, their square footage running in the several thou-
sands. The penthouse apartments were comprised of two stories, and when viewed from
the outside, it almost looks as though a giant crane had lifted a few two-story houses and
placed them side-by-side on top, creating an exclusive little neighborhood on the roof.
If New York was doing well during the Gilded Age, the Chelsea District positively
thrived. The Chelsea Hotel sat at the epicenter ofNew York'sTheater District. Playhouses,
operahouses,andvaudevillehouseswerestrewnthroughouttheneighborhood.Theworld-
renowned actor Sarah Bernhardt made her home in one of the Chelsea's penthouses.
The pyramid she had built for her roof survives to this day. As a wealthy celebrity, Ms.
Bernhardt could afford such extravagances. Where there's a whim, there's a way. But most
actors were dirt poor, exploited by the big theater syndicates and struggling to form labor
unions. Still, the scores of less well-heeled actors kept the Chelsea District lively.
Unfortunately for the Chelsea district, around 1905, theater owners found bigger,
cheaper spaces to build music houses and cabarets on a street called Broadway. The entire
theater district packed up and moved north. You know the rest of the story. With its
livelytheaterscenegone,theChelseaneighborhoodbegantodecline.ThewealthyChelsea
dwellers moved on as well. The building was turned into a hotel, albeit a “residence hotel”
that had rooms for tourists (whom Chelsea insiders called “transients”) and actual apart-
mentsforpermanentresidents.TheChelsearemainedsountilveryrecently:oneparthotel,
two parts apartment building. While it is best known for its artists, it is also renowned for
its unique design features. For instance, you can't mention the hotel's architecture without
referring to its staircase.
JULIE EAKIN
Thecentralstairwell,inparticular,isareallyresonant,romanticspace.Itgoesup
for ten flights and has the wrought iron banister all the way up—it's very identi-
fiable.
PETER JOHANSSON
You can see the famous stairway in a lot of movies, like The Professional, which
was shot at the Chelsea. Look at that movie, and you'll see how the Chelsea