The Chelsea Hotel, New York City

The Chelsea Hotel in New York City is legendary. The Leonard Cohen song gave it a melody, but the hotel had a history long before. The likes of Mark Twain, Bette Davis and Iggy Pop walked through the iconic entrance.

The building has gone through about as much as its inhabitants, but it remains standing to this day while many of them passed on. Erected in the 1880s, The Chelsea Hotel is an essential part of the cityscape, home to permanent and transient occupants, although, the latter stopped in 2011. The condition of the rooms in its final years left much to be desired, but the history and beautiful details were everywhere.

The future of the hotel has become both optimistic and fraught over the last year. A group of hoteliers bought it for $250 million in the hopes of refurbishing it to its former glory while still allowing residents to remain. There have been many construction issues, but there is still hope for an early 2019 opening date.

Unfortunately, much of its previous character will be lost as the hotel hopes to renovate extensively and put a restaurant, greenhouse and private event space on the first floor. The doors were already prepared for sale at auction.