Hop on over to e-bay and pick up a pack of postcards with an early drawing of the Hotel Chelsea. (No date, but would have to be later than 1905, since thats when the building became a hotel -- but surely not much later.) We like the fact that there's only one car on 23rd St. and it doesn't look that hetic. You were more liable to step in horse manure than dog poop.
Those on the East side of the building didn't get their views obstructed by the Carteret. There are no store fronts, and instead there is a series of columns running the length of the building. If you stand in front of the buidling you can see where they once must have been. They probably matched the columns that are still by the front door, and in fact they may still exist: it looks like they've been encased in the metal sheathing that divides the store fronts. Maybe we should ask Stanely Bard to have them restored.
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