Rock Monuments - Chelsea Hotel, New York

[Ed. note: Our UK music correspondent Miles Gallagher recently filed this entry from New York City.]

"I remember you well at the Chelsea Hotel" sang Leonard Cohen ("Chelsea Hotel No. 2"), ". . . in fact I'm tired of 23rd street, strung out like christmas lights, on these Chelsea Nights" sang former resident Ryan Adams ("Hotel Chelsea Nights"). In 1966, Warhol filmed "Chelsea Girls" there which served as the inspiration for Nico's album by nearly the same name. Janis Joplin had suite #411 (and a liason with Cohen who lived there for years). Bob Dylan had #2011. Of course, Sid and Nancy had #100. Mark Twain, Thomas Wolfe, and Arthur Miller were residents there. It goes on and on. See Cohen's excellent summary. I recommend a stay there, its reasonable, clean, cosmopolitan, one of the closest hotels to the Village, there is a subway stop on the corner, and most importantly it has a creative energy at its core. Maybe its the winding stairwell (left as payment), maybe its the funk of the casement windows, the singing in the hall, but it does have an energy.

Take a tour. This intrepid filmmaker provides a walk through right up to my room, She ultimately takes the door to the left; mine was the one on the right.

Cheers,

MG