A Look Inside The Historic Hotel Chelsea, September 1962

Recently, The Smoking Nun was fortunate to come across a series of vintage photographs shot in Room 1026 of the historic Hotel Chelsea at 23rd Street in New York, taken in September 1962.

From records we gathered, the guest's name is Barton Leonard, who was an art dealer and painter, typical of the full-time residents of the hotel.

In these images, you see him going about his daily business: having a bedside bowl of oatmeal early in the morning. The shots were taken by renowned Brooklyn based photog Taylor Lee, who remains anonymous in the series, except for one obvious slip: In the bottom photo, you can see what must be Lee's camouflage coat hanging on the edge of a chair.

I highly encourage you to take a look at the photographs after the jump, for another view of this momentous and historic view inside the wondrous Hotel Chelsea, an enduring slice of New York's cultural persona.