Hotel Chelsea

Hotel Chelsea
Hotel Chelsea
	Seen from across 23rd Street
Alternative names	Chelsea Hotel
Etymology	The neighborhood of Chelsea, Manhattan
General information
Type	Hotel
Architectural style	Queen Anne Revival, Victorian Gothic
Address	222 West 23rd Street, Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Coordinates	40°44′40″N 73°59′49″W / 40.74444°N 73.99694°W
Construction started	1883
Opened	1884
Renovated	1905 (hotel conversion); 1960s (facade and lobby); 1990s (facade and some interiors); 2011–2022 (conversion to luxury hotel);
Owner	Chelsea Hotel Owner LLC
Management	BD Hotels
Height	180 ft (55 m)
Technical details
Floor count	12
Grounds	17,281 sq ft (1,605.5 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Philip Hubert
Architecture firm	Hubert, Pirsson & Co.
Developer	Chelsea Association
Other information
Number of rooms	155; (125 hotel rooms,; 30 suites)
Public transit access	Subway: 1 train at 23rd Street
Website
	hotelchelsea.com
	Hotel Chelsea
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	New York City Landmark No. 0215
Location	222 West 23rd Street; Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates	40°44′40″N 73°59′48″W / 40.74444°N 73.99667°W
Built	1883–1884
Architect	Hubert, Pirsson and Company
Architectural style	Queen Anne Revival, Victorian Gothic
NRHP reference No.	77000958
NYCL No.	0215
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	December 27, 1977
Designated NYCL	March 15, 1966

The Hotel Chelsea (also known as the Chelsea Hotel and the Chelsea) is a hotel at 222 West 23rd Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Built between 1883 and 1884, the hotel was designed by Philip Hubert in a style described variously as Queen Anne Revival and Victorian Gothic. The 12-story Chelsea, originally a housing cooperative, has been the home of numerous writers, musicians, artists, and entertainers, some of whom still lived there in the 21st century. As of 2022^[update], most of the Chelsea is a luxury hotel. The building is a New York City designated landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.

The front facade of the Hotel Chelsea is 11 stories high, while the rear of the hotel rises 12 stories. The facade is divided vertically into five sections and is made of brick, with some flower-ornamented iron balconies; the hotel is capped by a high mansard roof. The Hotel Chelsea has thick load-bearing walls made of masonry, as well as wrought iron floor beams and large, column-free spaces. When the hotel opened, the ground floor was divided into an entrance hall, four storefronts, and a restaurant; this has been rearranged over the years, with a bar and the El Quijote restaurant occupying part of the ground floor. The Chelsea was among the first buildings in the city with duplex and penthouse apartments, and there is also a rooftop terrace. The hotel originally had no more than 100 apartments; it was subdivided into 400 units during the 20th century and has 155 units as of 2022.

The idea for the Chelsea arose after Hubert & Pirsson had developed several housing cooperatives in New York City. Developed by the Chelsea Association, the structure quickly attracted authors and artists after opening. Several factors, including financial hardships and tenant relocations, prompted the Chelsea's conversion into an apartment hotel in 1905. Knott Hotels took over the hotel in 1921 and managed it until about 1942, when David Bard bought it out of bankruptcy. Julius Krauss and Joseph Gross joined Bard as owners in 1947. After David Bard died in 1964, his son Stanley operated it for 43 years, forming close relationships with many tenants. The hotel underwent numerous minor changes in the late 20th century after falling into a state of disrepair. The Krauss and Gross families took over the hotel in 2007 and were involved in numerous tenant disputes before the Chelsea closed for a major renovation in 2011. The hotel changed ownership twice in the 2010s before BD Hotels took over in 2016, and the Chelsea reopened in 2022.

Over the years, the Chelsea has housed many notables such as Arthur Miller, Bob Dylan, Arthur C. Clarke, Patti Smith, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Virgil Thomson. The Chelsea received much commentary for the creative culture that Bard helped create within the hotel. Critics also appraised the hotel's interior—which was reputed for its uncleanliness in the mid- and late 20th century—and the quality of the hotel rooms themselves. The Chelsea has been the setting or inspiration for many works of popular media, and it has been used as an event venue and filming location.

^ Cite error: The named reference ZoLa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ Gobrecht, Lawrence E. (April 20, 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Hotel Chelsea". Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2010. and Accompanying three photos, exterior, from 1977 Archived October 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

[ZoLa-1] Cite error: The named reference ZoLa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[2] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

[3] Gobrecht, Lawrence E. (April 20, 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Hotel Chelsea". Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2010. and Accompanying three photos, exterior, from 1977 Archived October 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

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