Located at 222 West 23^rd street between 7^th and 8^th avenue, the Chelsea Hotel, commonly referred to as Hotel Chelsea, is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. The history of the building dates back to its construction between 1883 and 1885, and it was one of the first apartment building complexes in New York. It eventually became a hotel, but allowed for long-term residents. It became famous for it was where poet Dylan Thomas had stayed prior to his death in November 1953, the site where author Charles Jackson committed suicide in 1968, and where reportedly Sid Vicious stabbed his girlfriend in 1978. The place was home to many artists, poets, musicians, and more during the 1960s and 1970s.

With regards to Just Kids, Hotel Chelsea was the site where Patti Smith had heard that had cheap rooms and that they can pay in art temporarily ahead of time (Smith 93). Inevitably, they got the smallest room in Hotel Chelsea, room 1017, as described by Smith (94-95). At Hotel Chelsea, Patti and Robert met many different people. The first person Robert met was Bruce Rudow, who took him under his wings. Others included hotel manager Stanley Bard, Sandy Daley, of who was describe as “the most influential person we met” (101), Matthew Reich etc. The Hotel Chelsea was a place of art and intellectual hub during this era, where famous people such as Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix had stayed. A lot happened there.

Currently the hotel is under renovation, and is scheduled to reopen in 2015. In 1966 it was named one of the New York City landmarks and in 1977 it was put on the National Register of Historic Places.

~Christopher Chong