Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sweet Dreams are Made of These
The Chelsea promised different things to different people. Maybe they wanted artistic fame,
or at least some new artist friends, famous or not. Maybe they were attracted to the hedon-
istic pleasures promised in a “rule-free” zone. Most of them aspired to become characters in
the Chelsea's history, heroes in the place's epic, eccentric story
In our own lives, most of us remember our “firsts”—our first day of school, first time
driving a car, our first sexual experience. We recall our enthusiasm and dread as things got
started, as we girded up our loins and stepped through the door.
When the painter John Zinsser arrived at the hotel, he had also “arrived” in more than
one way. His paintings were beginning to sell, he was building a name for himself, and he
had just gotten married.
JOHN ZINSSER
My wife and I were looking for a place to live. She was from small town
Michigan, near Toledo, so the Chelsea Hotel had always been a romantic notion
for her. We were looking at rental buildings, and we went around the Chelsea and
talked to Stanley.
Stanley's office was beautiful. That's where I first met him, when I inter-
viewed with him to be accepted into the hotel. He had all these accordion files
stacked up to the ceiling. He ushered you in and sat down across from you. I told
him a story about visiting Virgil Thompson at the Chelsea when I was a kid. I told
him I was a painter, and at that time having a lot of success.
“Great!” he said. “You're perfect!” There was no check into my finances or
anything.
The price there was competitive with other rentals we had looked at.
Thenheshowedmethesehorriblerooms.Hewouldshowyoutheworst,crap-
piest room possible, and his description of it was like he was showing you the
Palace at Versailles. The largesse he brought to showing these rooms! Then he
would quote these outlandishly high prices with a straight face!
Itwassuchaperverseperformance,butsotruetoStanley'sdouble-sidedchar-
acter.
Our first place was room 725, the top floor where they have the cast-iron bal-
conies. It had French doors. It had the classic small hotel room feel. But the view,
when you looked out the French doors at the brocade of the ironwork on the bal-
cony,wasclassicandbeautiful.Highupoverthestreetbelow.Buttheroomdidn't
Search WWH ::
Custom Search