17/08/2026
No two fireplaces in Hotel Chelsea match, and there's a reason - or at least a very good rumour.
Legend has it that because the building went bankrupt before it ever opened, so the original contractors got paid in free rent instead of cash. Which meant each one finished off his own room exactly how he liked it. This shows in the fireplaces - every single one is unique and different. That's the story anyway - nobody's ever fully confirmed it, and Hotel Chelsea has never let the truth get in the way of a good one.
True or not, it's why every mantel in this building tells on the person who built it. We restored each one individually, painstakingly sourcing vintage tile, having some remade, and adding bolection marble mantels to the ones long gone.No two fireplaces in Hotel Chelsea match, and there's a reason - or at least a very good rumour.
Legend has it that because the building went bankrupt before it ever opened, so the original contractors got paid in free rent instead of cash. Which meant each one finished off his own room exactly how he liked it. This shows in the fireplaces - every single one is unique and different. That's the story anyway - nobody's ever fully confirmed it, and Hotel Chelsea has never let the truth get in the way of a good one.
True or not, it's why every mantel in this building tells on the person who built it. We restored each one individually, painstakingly sourcing vintage tile, having some remade, and adding bolection marble mantels to the ones long gone.
Photos by Annie Schletter
