I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel

If you have been to New York City, it is likely that you have heard whispers of the infamously beguiling Chelsea Hotel. This iconic landmark holds within it a treasure trove of artworks and artifacts, some which have hung on the walls of the eccentric building for several decades. It was Philip Hubert, a founder of the architectural firm of Hubert, Pirsson & Company, who brought the Chelsea Hotel to life in the mid-1880s. Hubert was an avid follower of Charles Fourier, a French philosopher who imagined various forms of utopian socialism. More specifically, Fourier was a steadfast proponent of so-called "intentional communities," in which teamwork and shared social values are top priorities. Since its opening in 1884, the hotel has lived by that philosophy, and has not only been a temporary lodging, but a lifelong home engendering a belief system and a gathering place of candid thought and creation for so many artists, writers, and cultural influencers. While it was originally constructed by Hubert as an affordable cooperative for artists, it did not take long for upper and middle-class New Yorkers to also take over much of its real estate, and only later did it reopen as a hotel. According to Nicolaia Rips, who documented her experiences growing up in the hotel during the 2000s, "If you believe that you imbue the things you create with purpose, which I do, then it is very simple: art is in the hotel's foundation, it is as essential to the hotel as the brick and mortar."