New York · Chelsea
Hotel Chelsea
A cooperative apartment house of 1883–85 on West 23rd Street, later home to Thomas Wolfe, Dylan Thomas and Mark Twain, the landmarks commission says.
- Built
- 1883–85Built 1883-85 to Hubert, Pirsson & Company's design as a cooperative apartment house (LPC building database dates it 1883-1885; the 1966 designation report gives 1883); now a hotel.
- Style
- Queen Anne / Victorian Gothic
- Architect
- Hubert, Pirsson & Company
- Type
- Boutique hotel
- Area
- Chelsea
- Credentials
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Local landmark
The story
Hubert, Pirsson & Co. designed the 11-story building with tiers of decorative iron balconies; the Landmarks Preservation Commission notes it had some of the city’s first duplex apartments and one of its first penthouses, and was one of the early cooperatives. It has long been a home for writers and artists: the LPC’s 1966 report names Thomas Wolfe, Dylan Thomas, Edgar Lee Masters, John Sloan, Robert Flaherty, Mark Twain and Eugene O’Neill among its residents. Michelin listed it with one Key in 2026.
The ghost story
Guests have reported lights switching on and off, a woman's scream, footsteps and even the face of Dylan Thomas, who died in 1953; NBC New York collected the reports in 2009, noting the hotel has long been followed by ghost rumors.
Source: www.nbcnewyork.com
Good to know
- Parking: garage nearby
- Address: 222 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10011
Things to do
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Sources (4)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.