Hotel Chelsea: Living in the Last Bohemian Haven

Hotel Chelsea: Living in the Last Bohemian Haven

A cultural institution of almost mythic proportions, the Chelsea Hotel has long been a magnet for artists and creatives of all types. Once home to such 20th-century icons as Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Stanley Kubrick, Patti Smith, Jackson Pollock, Leonard Cohen, Madonna, Jimi Hendrix and Edith Piaf (just to name a few), the sometimes hotel-sometimes apartment building has been both the birthplace of brilliant creative works and the backdrop for some of pop culture history’s more sordid tales. While some of its original charm has been lost to decay, demolition and attempted renovations, a community of the building’s resilient tenants have fought hard to keep the Chelsea the bohemian enclave that it is — and to keep their place in its hallowed halls.

Peek into the lives and homes of nineteen of these current residents in Hotel Chelsea: Living in the Last Bohemian Haven. This dazzling tome is filled with page after page of stunning photographs, which capture all the details of these layered, storied spaces and the fascinating people who call them home. These images are accompanied by brief profiles, where these occupants share the stories behind their home as well as anecdotes and memories from their time at the Chelsea. Ranging in style from sparse and modern to colorful, eclectic and sometimes delightfully strange, each apartment is a direct extension of its current owner’s unique aesthetic and personality but also holds touches from its previous occupants, creating a sort of quirky artistic collaboration across time. A love letter to a captivating piece of American lore, Hotel Chelsea is sure to inspire its reader to create a space that inspires. 

• text by Ray Mock
• foreword by Gaby Hoffman and Alex Auder
• photography by Colin Miller

Clothbound hardcover, 256 pages