Neighborhood Background : Chelsea

Daniel Collins

Journalism

Neighborhood Backgrounder

The neighborhood of Chelsea dates back to 1750 where a retired American soldier by the name of Thomas Clarke decided to spend the last decades of his life. He built his house in this neighborhood because at the time it was over three miles away from the actual development of New York City giving him peace and quiet in the last half of his life. The expression soldiers used in the 1700’s “Dead as Chelsea” was thought to be where Thomas came up with the name of this neighborhood. This phrase seemed to suggest rest and quiet to Thomas so he ultimately came up with the name Chelsea for this district. In 1769 people started to actually settle in Chelsea and the name “Gloucester” which was originally what most people called this area was thrown away and Chelsea became the official name of the area. Into the 1800’s many writers and artists moved to Chelsea. Clemet C. Moore was said to have been inspired to write “A visit from Saint Nicholas” one Christmas eve while spending it in Chelsea. Fashion also streamed into Chelsea in the early 1860’s where fashion designer Madame Montez wrote her book entitled “Arts and Secrets of Beauty.” In the 1870’s wealthy people started to move to Chelsea because of the increase number of brownstones and churches being built. Not to mention in 1871 on Ninth Avenue and elevated train was built making travel in the city and around the Chelsea area much easier. Many more artists and writers such as Mark Twain and Andy Warhol stayed at the Hotel Chelsea and are said to have found much inspiration for their work though the walls and halls of the hotel.

In the early 1900’s, the Chelsea Piers got their names and was know for much of the ships coming in and out of the harbor as well as a place to walk and have recreation time. In 1928 one of the largest apartment complexes called the London Gardens was built up on twenty third Street and stretched through the entire block from ninth avenue to tenth avenue. The Chelsea Hotel became more and more renowned in the 1960’s and 70’s where art pieces where being hung in the lobby almost as an exhibit. In 1978 in the bathroom of the Chelsea Hotel Sid Vicious, guitarist of the Sex Pistols killed his girlfriend for what people still say is for some unknown reason. Thomas Wolfe spent the last few days of his life in the Chelsea Hotel telling people that “He just couldn’t go home.” He died of old age in one of the rooms there.

Present day Chelsea has changed much over the years and has kept that same artist feel to it even after over two hundred years of being around. The only addition to the artistic feel is the Gay scene that evokes the streets of Chelsea everyday. The real estate is higher than ever in Chelsea, and in fact almost every resident in Chelsea pays more rent in one month than Thomas Clarke paid for his entire land in Chelsea back in 1750. Chelsea is presently located from 14^th street up to 33^rd street and between the West Side highway (or 12^th Avenue) and Broadway/5^th Avenue. Most local businesses have gone and major pharmacies such as Duane Reade, super markets like Gristedes, and chain restaurants have sprawled up through Chelsea. Chelsea became the Gay area of New York City because of the many protested that were held back in the 1960’s and 70’s following the Stonewall riots. The Gay population also needed to expand itself and thus needed a neighborhood to thrive and protect each other in. This neighborhood was Chelsea. Looking back at the history behind Chelsea and seeing that it indeed was

straight at one time gives me more information and different angles to my story. Chelsea never seemed like a crime ridden area even when she was straight. In the past year there was only one murder in Chelsea. This history behind Chelsea is fascinating and unlike what I initially expected with this neighborhood. There are many senior homes aligned in the middle of Chelsea spreading from 8^th to 9^th avenue and from 25^th street to 28^th street. It seems that Chelsea is very aware of the elderly population.

Parks:

Chelsea park: Located on 28^th Street between 9^th and 10 Avenue

Thomas E. Smith Park: Located on 24^th Street and 11^th Avenue

Clement Clark Moore Park: Located on 22^nd Street and 10^th Avenue

Hudson River Park: Located along the West Street Highway

14^th Street Park: Located on 14^th Street and 10^th Avenue

Landmarks:

Chelsea Pier: Located on Pier 54

Chelsea Historic District: Located on 22^nd Street and 21^st street between 9^th and 10^th

Chelsea Art Galleries: Located on 25^th Street and 11^th Avenue

The Hotel Chelsea: Located on 23^rd Street and 7^th Avenue

Chelsea Market: Located on 16^th Street and 9^th Avenue

F.I.T: Located on 27^th Street between 7^th and 8^th Avenue

Toy Center: Located on 23^rd Street and 5^th Avenue

London Terrace: Located on 23^rd Street between 8^th and 9^th Avenue

B. Altman Dry Goods Store: Located on 19^th Street and 6^th Avenue

Churches:

St. John the Baptist Church: Located on 30^th Street and 7^th Avenue

Holy Apostle Church: Located on 9^th Avenue and 28^th Street

Community Church: Located on 26^th Street and 9^th Avenue

St. Columbia Church: Located on 26^th Street and 9^th Avenue

Guardian Angels Roman Catholic Church: Located on 22^nd Street and 10^th Avenue

General Theological Seminary: Located on 21^st Street between 9^th and 10^th Avenue

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church: Located on 20^th Street and 9^th Avenue

St. Vincent de Paul Church: Located on 23^rd Street and 6^th Avenue

St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church: Located on 25^th Street and Broadway

St. Francis Xavier Church: Located on 15^th Street between 5^th and 6^th Avenue

Museum:

The Chelsea At Museum: Located on 22^nd Street and 12^th Avenue

Musical Cinema and Theater:

Hudson Gold Theater: Located on 27^th Street and 10^th Avenue

Atlantic Theater: Located on 27^th Street and 10^th Avenue

Joyce Theater: Located on 19^th Street and 12^th Avenue

Chelsea Cinema: Located on 23^rd Street Between 7^th and 8^th Avenue

Dance Theater Workshop: Located on 20^th Street and 7^th avenue

MCC (Manhattan Class Company): Located on 28^th Street and 6^th Avenue

Grade Schools:

Winston Preparatory School: Located on 17^th Street between 7^th and 8^th Avenue

P.S. 11 William T. Harris: Located on 21^st Street and 8^th Avenue

Chelsea Middle School: Located on 28^th Street and 9^th Avenue

City and Country School: Located on 14^th Street and 6^th Avenue

Guardian Angel School: Located on 22^nd Street and 10^th Avenue

The Lorge School: Located on 9^th Avenue and 17^th Street

Demographics:

Total Population of Chelsea/Hell’s Kitchen: 137,155

American	3,263
Arab	1,129
Czech	795
Danish	433
Dutch	1,185
English	9,474
French (except Basque)	4,845
French Canadian	503
German	13,966
Greek	2,329
Hungarian	1,375
Irish	15,744
Italian	13,083
Lithuanian	509
Norwegian	726
Polish	7,542
Portuguese	437
Russian	8,359
Scotch-Irish	1,567
Scottish	2,767
Slovak	273
Subsaharan African	1,432
Swedish	1,318
Swiss	996
Ukrainian	1,139
Welsh	1,031
West Indian (excluding Hispanic origin groups)	1,609

Region Of Birth:

Foreign-born population, excluding population born at sea	32,222
Europe	9,069
Asia	11,677
Africa	530
Oceania	1,274
Latin America	8,534
Northern America	1,138

Households:

Total households	77,186
Family households (families)	19,013
With own children under 18 years	5,982
Married-couple family	14,432
With own children under 18 years	4,194
Male householder, no wife present, family	1,131
With own children under 18 years	327
Female householder, no husband present, family	3,450
With own children under 18 years	1,461
Nonfamily households	58,173
Householder living alone	48,180
65 years and over	8,642
Households with one or more people under 18 years	6,397
Households with one or more people 65 years and over	12,276
Average household size	1.67
Average family size	2.73

Marital Status:

Males 15 years and over	66,859
Never married	42,054
Now married, except separated	16,890
Separated	1,449
Widowed	658
Divorced	5,808
Females 15 years and over	60,872
Never married	33,260
Now married, except separated	15,872
Separated	1,288
Widowed	3,168
Divorced	7,284

School Enrollment:

Population 3 years and over enrolled in school	19,769
Nursery school, preschool	1,157
Kindergarten	323
Elementary school (grades 1-8)	4,018
High school (grades 9-12)	2,029
College or graduate school	12,242
Population 25 years and over	114,782
Less than 9th grade	4,200
9th to 12th grade, no diploma	4,356
High school graduate (includes equivalency)	11,096
Some college, no degree	13,670
Associate’s degree	3,839
Bachelor’s degree	43,467
Graduate or professional degree	34,154