The Chelsea Hotel by Larry Baumhor
THE CHELSEA HOTEL by Larry Baumhor Dedicated To Stanley Bard (All photos and interviews by Larry Baumhor unless otherwise noted.) I got fucked-up at the Chelsea Hotel while on a tour with William Benton, the hotel bellman and tour guide. I’m walking through the hotel recording William’s tour and simultaneously shooting photos. But I didn’t feel conscious, more like a dream state, a euphoric high, an out-of-body experience, floating through the Chelsea halls. The History of the Chelsea Hotel Stanley Bard, part owner of the hotel was a patron, to a who’s who in the art world. Mr. Bard allowed many artists free rooms in exchange for their art. Stanley was like an impresario. It was not just painters whom Sir Bard accepted; there were musicians, actors, dancers, poets, writers, composers, sculptors, rebels, the avant-garde, and an extraordinary collection of misfits. Stanley Bard worked in the hotel in 1957 as a plumber’s assistant. When Stanley’s father died in 1964,