I lived in the Chelsea Hotel from 1997 to 1999. I used to see Ethan Hawke there all the time and then at The Hog Pit where I worked as a waitress. Ethan used to like to have readings in the back room. The chairs were put in a circle and they would sit with scripts and read. We had a few nice chats and he was bummed when the Hog Pit moved to the Flat Iron District. I met the most amazing artists those two years. It absolutely inspired my art work at the time.
The Hog Pit was in the Meat Packing District. 13th st & 9th Ave. It was wild in there. When I started working there in the 90s it was still an actual meat packing district. Dead animals hanging and what a stench! 😆
Got it. I remember a place called Hogs & Hefiers (I think) that a friend took me to once. I remember that neighborhood very well. It was so depressing to me when it changed.
Hogs and Heifers was one block over and yes, I’ve been on their bar 😆 I watched it transform down there. First Pastis opened, then Lotus lounge and slowly high end shops etc… Then places that I loved started to close. I have great memories though!
Michael, this is such a beautiful piece of reverence in prose. I'm so sorry for Lesley's loss. Ethan Hawke moved to my neighborhood in Brooklyn, I believe. I used to see him around there all the time, but I did see him wandering around Chelsea years earlier. Also, have you read Don't Call Me Home by Alex Auder? She grew up in the Chelsea Hotel in the 70s and just wrote a brilliant memoir about it. I feel like you'd love it!
This is such a beautiful tribute to Lesley and New Yorkers. After reading Patti Smith's books, I always walk by the chelsea Hotel and become mesmerized by it. It feels like it holds a million secrets and stories. Ethan Hawke used to, maybe still does, frequent a coffee shop I like to write at in Boreum Hill... it's funny how this is almost a universal experience. The strange and beautiful thing about New York is that it sometimes can feel like a small town
Thank you for reading the essay Amelia. I too am a fan of Patti Smith’s book and regret not staying at the Chelsea for at least one night. Ethan Hawke seems to love the city as much as we do…that dude is everywhere.
I lived in the Chelsea Hotel from 1997 to 1999. I used to see Ethan Hawke there all the time and then at The Hog Pit where I worked as a waitress. Ethan used to like to have readings in the back room. The chairs were put in a circle and they would sit with scripts and read. We had a few nice chats and he was bummed when the Hog Pit moved to the Flat Iron District. I met the most amazing artists those two years. It absolutely inspired my art work at the time.
That neighborhood was so vibrant and exciting back then. Where was the Hog Pit?
The Hog Pit was in the Meat Packing District. 13th st & 9th Ave. It was wild in there. When I started working there in the 90s it was still an actual meat packing district. Dead animals hanging and what a stench! 😆
Got it. I remember a place called Hogs & Hefiers (I think) that a friend took me to once. I remember that neighborhood very well. It was so depressing to me when it changed.
Hogs and Heifers was one block over and yes, I’ve been on their bar 😆 I watched it transform down there. First Pastis opened, then Lotus lounge and slowly high end shops etc… Then places that I loved started to close. I have great memories though!
I imagine you spent mant nights at Florent. I loved that place.
Yes!!! Loved it there. We were all so sad when it closed.
Amazing piece 🔥
Thank you kindly Zack.
Great piece Michael. I grew up in the Co-op on 27th and 8th in the 60s and 70s…most of my world existed between Chelsea and the west village.
Unfortunately my experience at the Chelsea Hotel was a really bad one with a really bad guy.
And yet, the fascination with the place is right next to the anxiety I feel when I think about that wild and crazy place…
Thank you
Thank you for reading. Sorry to hear about your bad memories connected with the Chelsea Hotel. NYC can be such a bad and mad place at times.
Michael, this is such a beautiful piece of reverence in prose. I'm so sorry for Lesley's loss. Ethan Hawke moved to my neighborhood in Brooklyn, I believe. I used to see him around there all the time, but I did see him wandering around Chelsea years earlier. Also, have you read Don't Call Me Home by Alex Auder? She grew up in the Chelsea Hotel in the 70s and just wrote a brilliant memoir about it. I feel like you'd love it!
Thank you Vivian. That damn Ethan Hawke got around. LOL I've heard about Don't Call Me Home, but I haven't read it yet. I will check it out.
LMAO Hawke made the rounds! Please do and let me know what you think!
This is such a beautiful tribute to Lesley and New Yorkers. After reading Patti Smith's books, I always walk by the chelsea Hotel and become mesmerized by it. It feels like it holds a million secrets and stories. Ethan Hawke used to, maybe still does, frequent a coffee shop I like to write at in Boreum Hill... it's funny how this is almost a universal experience. The strange and beautiful thing about New York is that it sometimes can feel like a small town
Thank you for reading the essay Amelia. I too am a fan of Patti Smith’s book and regret not staying at the Chelsea for at least one night. Ethan Hawke seems to love the city as much as we do…that dude is everywhere.