Chelsea Hotel Plaque

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ladydi
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Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by ladydi »

Hi Dick,

I've have your address now....thank you so much! The check will be forthcoming and of course, (although I'm still Canadian) you can indicate the USA as it's been my home for many years. I'll include that with the payment! Can't wait to see the Chelsea again once the plaque has been added! :D

All the best,
Diana
Dream Warrior
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Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by Dream Warrior »

Oops! Posted to the other thread before seeing this and realizing there were two projects in the works. This is a wonderful idea by the way.
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bridger15
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Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by bridger15 »

What a fabulous idea! Thanks for organizing this. My $10 contribution is currently in PayPal cyberspace. I suppose you will receive it soon.
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Arlene's Leonard Cohen Scrapbook http://onboogiestreet.blogspot.com
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PanCogito
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Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by PanCogito »

Great, great idea!! This is what I was waiting for. I stayed in the Chelsea Hotel in May (16&17) and I noticed several plaques there but nothing for Leonard and I was wondering about the one honoring him. I think that it will fit easily there. Thank you, Dick for doing this. My $20.00 contribution is on the way.

Greetings,

Roman
kind regards -דרישת שלום
roman - pan cogito- מר קוגיטו
העובדה שאני שותק לא אומרת שאין לי מה להגיד - The fact that I am being silent doesn't mean that I have nothing to say
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Kanga
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Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by Kanga »

Great idea, I've sent my $10 to Dick via PayPal :)
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Heike
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Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by Heike »

I can only agree with the others:
This is a fantastic idea to honour Leonard, and it's great that people from all over the world can participate :) .

Best wishes,
Heike
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leonardmtl
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Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by leonardmtl »

Dick....the award of brilliance is yours....I'm on board in spades!

Leonard from Montreal
We're all on one road....we're only passing through....

1967 Montreal / 2008 Toronto/ 2009 New York Beacon /Boston 2x /New York MSG / Chelsea Hotel Plaque Celebration /San Jose / 2010 Las Vegas 2x / 2012 Montreal 2x /Boston 2x
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dick
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Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by dick »

Thanks everyone for the kind words. Here is first status report --

I have already received 21 payments and a number of pledges. We'll be fine if we can keep the ball rolling!



Some time ago there was great concern that the Chelsea changes would destroy it. While tensions continue, there appears to be some accomodations being made on both sides, and I am hopeful it will never lose much of its charm. A recent article in the LA Times covers the tour Linda and I took with Esther last week, and gives some perspective.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 1264.story

The Chelsea Hotel, a famed hub of artistic activity, phases out its long-term residents.
By Tina Susman June 25, 2009

A Manhattan landmark

Reporting from New York -- Overheard on the Chelsea Hotel stairway one recent Sunday:

Question: "Is Rita still here?"

Reply: "Rita's dead." A pause between footsteps. "Rita was a sweetheart."

Only in this hotel could such an exchange take place as calmly as if two people were discussing the weather. But most people don't check out of the Chelsea if they can help it.

They remain until they die, sometimes violently, sometimes quietly, their passings adding to the lore that has made this a world-famous cocoon of creativity -- home to musicians, poets, painters, dogs, drag queens and artists of every conceivable ilk. This is a hotel with no gym, where you can smoke in all the rooms and where a fat, pink papier-mache woman swings from the lobby ceiling.

As the world and the economy change, however, so does the Chelsea. Its owners are phasing out the more-or-less permanent residents in favor of making the hotel more of, well, a hotel, where people pay by the night and don't have the freedom to paint their rooms fire-engine red. Long-term leases are gone, replaced by 25-day agreements.

"If you're looking to make money, it's probably the way to go," said Jerry Weinstein this month as he led one of the occasional tours through the 126-year-old hotel on West 23rd Street in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood But as a 30-year employee of the Chelsea, Weinstein -- like the tenants who let him shepherd camera-toting tourists through their private dens of inspiration -- seems saddened by the change.

He remembers 20 years ago when at any major art opening in New York, much of the crowd owed the Chelsea money. Management back then was forgiving toward its loyal and artistic clientele.

"I don't think you could do it today, because everything is so expensive," said Weinstein, rattling off the famous people who have slept in the Chelsea: songwriter Leonard Cohen "did his best work" in Room 424; Sid Vicious, the Sex Pistols' bassist, was accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death in Room 100; actor and playwright Wallace Shawn still checks in for short stays to recharge his creativity. Arthur C. Clarke completed "2001: A Space Odyssey" here. Bob Dylan composed songs here. Janis Joplin and Dylan Thomas drank here. Arthur Miller, William Burroughs, Mark Twain and Tennessee Williams wrote here.

"This was an unusual hotel, and they were unusual times," said Weinstein, who remembers one of his first nights on duty as a desk clerk, when a man fell (or jumped) nine stories to his death down the center of the spectacular cantilevered stairway and landed with a loud thud.

Like the rest of the Chelsea's common spaces, the stairway walls are lined with drawings, paintings and photographs -- works from artists who have made the hotel home -- creating a collage that reflects the diversity of the residents here. There's the papier-mache woman, a bust of President Truman and paintings by pop artist Larry Rivers, Brett Whiteley of Australian avant-garde fame and Robert Lambert, who still works in the Chelsea in a studio with paint-splattered floors.

In manager David Elder's office, a photograph shows punk musician Dee Dee Ramone sitting on his bed in Room 631.

Elder is the latest in a series of Chelsea managers after the 2007 ouster of long-timer Stanley Bard, a hero among many tenants for his leniency toward late payments and his nurturing of the hotel's artistic spirit. Like others since Bard, Elder's relations with some residents have been tense.

Ed Hamilton, a tenant activist who has blogged about the dispute with management since Bard's ouster, said the Chelsea's owners are "committed to emptying the hotel of permanent tenants." He said there are 40 outstanding lawsuits against the management, whom he described as "greedy hypocrites."

"We're trying to restore some of the rooms to the classic style," said Elder, who estimated that about half of the tenants are long-term residents, down from two-thirds a year ago.

In the meantime, despite the removal of the old-fashioned pigeonhole mailboxes in the lobby and other changes, the Chelsea's permanent guests remain hopeful that they will find a way to stay.

Some, like filmmaker Sam Bassett, arrived in recent years. Asked how he scored his homey penthouse, Bassett gave a Chelsea-like reply. "I knew one of the owners, Stanley Bard, in a very strong cosmic connection," he said. "It's a fateful kind of thing, you know."

Linda Troeller, a photographer in residence for 15 years, said it is the Chelsea's mix of people, history and unique atmosphere that fuels the creativity. "That's one of the fun things about the hotel. There are so many different influences you can draw from," Troeller said.

Inside her studio, a photograph of a young woman known as Miss Amelia, who lived briefly at the Chelsea, dominates the wall. Miss Amelia eventually moved to Shanghai and carved out a career as a successful burlesque dancer.

"So there is life after the Chelsea," Troeller said. "But not much."
donalagata
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Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by donalagata »

Hi There,
I sent an e-mail to get an address to send the money for the plaque. I do not have a paypal account do I need one to send the money that way? I really do not live in a box I just usually pay cash or standard Visa card. What a wonderful idea of having the plaque made. Count me in and also with the mosaic. I still need help sending the photo to whoever takes on this progect. I can send it directly to them via e-mail. Please advise I am listening....
donalagata(la donna)
UrPal
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Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by UrPal »

Interesting development to me this, since another forum of which I am a member, The Triffids forum, financed, designed and paid for a plaque to be installed back in 2005/2006 on the building at 27 Britton Street, London, where they recorded their classic album, Born Sandy Devotional. The band travelled all the way from Australia to attend the unveiling and, as a consequence, played together for the first time since their lead singer, David McComb, died in 1999. Incidentally, it was the very same Triffids who also supported LC on his recent Australian Tour back in January, so it's a small world.

Here are some pics of the results of our efforts, which, as far as I know, had been a unique form of fan internet forum-lead commemoration at the time:

Image

Image

So, is this an act of plaquiarism? ;-)

Whatever, I wholeheartedly approve of this Birthday Lenny Devotional 8) , and have contributed to the cause.
Last edited by UrPal on Sat Jun 27, 2009 11:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.
donalagata
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Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by donalagata »

Dick,
I was able to set things up with paypal and sent my money today. Thank you so much for the idea and taking the lead on following through. We are all connected as one by our love for Leonard ...........
donalagata
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dick
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Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by dick »

Thanks Donna

UrPal --- don't in any way shape or form expect LC to show up for the unveiling..
thanks for comments anyway!

Cheers
dick
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leonardmtl
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Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by leonardmtl »

Dick wrote:Thanks Donna

UrPal --- don't in any way shape or form expect LC to show up for the unveiling..
thanks for comments anyway!

Cheers
dick
Dick,

Assuming there will be a ceremony when the sign is first unveiled for public view, do you think Leonard might be persuaded to say a few words by video about the occasion, his memories about life in the Chelsea Hotel, etc..

My curiosity about how many of us wull be at the introduction ceremony. As always, count me in.

Leonard from Montreal
We're all on one road....we're only passing through....

1967 Montreal / 2008 Toronto/ 2009 New York Beacon /Boston 2x /New York MSG / Chelsea Hotel Plaque Celebration /San Jose / 2010 Las Vegas 2x / 2012 Montreal 2x /Boston 2x
sue7
Posts: 397
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Location: New York City

Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by sue7 »

This is a wonderful idea! I will definitely participate. Am on the verge of traveling, so will send it in a day or two. Thanks for organizing this!
MaryB
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Re: Chelsea Hotel Plaque

Post by MaryB »

Dick,

Thanks for setting up this wonderful and just so appropriate tribute to LC! My check is in the mail.

Kindest regards,
Mary
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