Travel Reference
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used to look. There's a scene where a very young Natalie Portman is sitting and
smoking a cigarette, dangling her feet. They show you an eagle's eye view of the
stairs with their black and white tiles. That movie really gives you a feel of what
the inside of the Chelsea was all about.
I approached the cluttered front desk area. Up to the right, there hung a painting by
Abstract-Expressionist Herbert Gentry, 6 a nice painting of spontaneous, swirling brush-
strokesformingthemselvesintohumanfigures,butitwasgrimy,insoreneedofacleaning.
No different, I guess, than the rest of the Chelsea.
I had assumed the hotel's staff would be bored with starry-eyed tourists brimming with
questions about the hotel's history. But the desk clerk was an affable, talkative man, per-
fectly willing to play up its reputation. He escorted me up the ancient elevator— Creak!
Clang! —and down the quiet hallway. Same as bellmen anywhere, he insisted on helping
me carry my two small, lightweight bags into my room, and waited politely for his tip.
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