One of New York's most famous lodging institutions has been sold – and its guests have been told to leave the premises.
According to The Real Deal, the Hotel Chelsea has been purchased for more than $80 million by real estate investor Joseph Chetrit. The new owner's plans for the 12-story hotel were not made public, but the hotel immediately stopped taking reservations and demanded that current guests vacate their rooms.
Built in 1883, the Hotel Chelsea is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and has a notable history for hosting iconic figures in the performing arts and literature. British writer Arthur C. Clarke wrote ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ while he was a guest at the hotel, and Andy Warhol used the building for the production of his groundbreaking 1966 underground film ‘Chelsea Girls.’ The hotel also has a history tragedy: Welsh writer Dylan Thomas died of alcohol poisoning in his hotel room in 1953, while Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious was charged with fatally stabbing his girlfriend Nancy Spungen in their suite in 1978.
(Photo courtesy of Paul Wright)
