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LisaBe
Starting Member
USA
2 Posts |
 Posted - 08/18/2007 : 13:39:03
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Many of you may have seen this already but if not some New York mogul is burning down the Chelsea Hotel to put in a spa and nightclub.
A lot of you might’ve already heard about the sad development concerning NYC’s “Chelsea Hotel”. In case not - regarding this unique symbol of artist’s community to be of interest to a lot of you out there, I’ll write down some of the informations here:
New York City’s “Chelsea Hotel” has been forced to face a more than undeserving end – now going to become transformed into another one of those uncountable soulless, replaceable hip young “Spots with a Spa” springing up like mushrooms in today’s cities - constantly converging to each other, constantly contributing to one indistinguishable standardized scheme of a metropolitan “culture”..
Unequaled in it’s history, having been started as one of the first social tenements in the late 19th century, it became a refuge for poor artist’s in 1905 (back then mostly for writers like Mark Twain or Tennessee Williams, for example), over the decades “Chelsea Hotel” has been turning into one (if not *the one*) most remarkable living place for artists of whatever genre, origin, ambition and attitude.
Personalities such as Arthur Miller, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Jack Keruoac, Dylan Thomas, Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Edith Piaf, Stanley Kubrick, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Robert Mapplethorpe, Gore Vidal, Jimi Hendrix, Nico, Dee Dee Ramone, William Burroughs, Sarah Bernhart, Dennis Hopper and many many more have been living, writing and feeling sort of at home at this special place. (Not to forget the still mysterious circumstances of Nancy Spungen's death, her having been found stabbed in her & Sid Vicious’ hotel (bath)room in 1978)
Their (hi)stories and memories of whatever kind – creative, dramatic, mournful, loving, amusing, inspiring, thrilling, depressing – have continuously been breathing this outstanding and thoroughly unique spirit into the walls of this building … Defining it’s status as one of the most relevant contemporary witnesses of past century’s artist’s achievements, impulses and passions. Radiating those artist’s uncompromising soul & heart & mind.
And now, having started two months ago, this icon of artist’s history shall be buried under the financial greed of a hotel mogul management called BD Hotels, run by Richard Born and Ira Drukier. Planning (and already having started) to create another stylish, mainstream-tourist appropriate place.. (despite BD, of course, persistantly talking about their respectful way of preserving the original spirit)
I won’t go into details any further… But I wanted to post a message concerning this - another ruthless act of mere profit seeking..
If you’d like to read more about this, you’ll find further information here:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/18/hotel-chelsea-is-under-new-management
The New York Times: July 8th 2007:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/realestate/commercial/08sqft.html?ex=1341547200&en=30e78934a7582826&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
The New York Observer: July 24th /30th 2007 –
http://www.observer.com/2007/nasty-checks-chelsea-hotel
Living with Legends: Hotel Chelsea Blog – new posting from August 10th 2007 -
http://legends.typepad.com/living_with_legends_the_h/
And for all you German readers, one text of Germany’s most important news magazine: August 9th 2007:
http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,499029,00.html
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Burning Down Chelsea Hotel
