Jan 18·edited Jan 18Liked by Michael A. Gonzales, Open Secrets
I lived in the Chelsea Hotel from 1997 to 1999. I used to see Ethan Hawke there all the time and then at The Hog Pit where I worked as a waitress. Ethan used to like to have readings in the back room. The chairs were put in a circle and they would sit with scripts and read. We had a few nice chats and he was bummed when the Hog Pit moved to the Flat Iron District. I met the most amazing artists those two years. It absolutely inspired my art work at the time.
The Hog Pit was in the Meat Packing District. 13th st & 9th Ave. It was wild in there. When I started working there in the 90s it was still an actual meat packing district. Dead animals hanging and what a stench! 😆
Got it. I remember a place called Hogs & Hefiers (I think) that a friend took me to once. I remember that neighborhood very well. It was so depressing to me when it changed.
Hogs and Heifers was one block over and yes, I’ve been on their bar 😆 I watched it transform down there. First Pastis opened, then Lotus lounge and slowly high end shops etc… Then places that I loved started to close. I have great memories though!
Michael, this is such a beautiful piece of reverence in prose. I'm so sorry for Lesley's loss. Ethan Hawke moved to my neighborhood in Brooklyn, I believe. I used to see him around there all the time, but I did see him wandering around Chelsea years earlier. Also, have you read Don't Call Me Home by Alex Auder? She grew up in the Chelsea Hotel in the 70s and just wrote a brilliant memoir about it. I feel like you'd love it!
I lived in the Chelsea Hotel from 1997 to 1999. I used to see Ethan Hawke there all the time and then at The Hog Pit where I worked as a waitress. Ethan used to like to have readings in the back room. The chairs were put in a circle and they would sit with scripts and read. We had a few nice chats and he was bummed when the Hog Pit moved to the Flat Iron District. I met the most amazing artists those two years. It absolutely inspired my art work at the time.
That neighborhood was so vibrant and exciting back then. Where was the Hog Pit?
The Hog Pit was in the Meat Packing District. 13th st & 9th Ave. It was wild in there. When I started working there in the 90s it was still an actual meat packing district. Dead animals hanging and what a stench! 😆
Got it. I remember a place called Hogs & Hefiers (I think) that a friend took me to once. I remember that neighborhood very well. It was so depressing to me when it changed.
Hogs and Heifers was one block over and yes, I’ve been on their bar 😆 I watched it transform down there. First Pastis opened, then Lotus lounge and slowly high end shops etc… Then places that I loved started to close. I have great memories though!
I imagine you spent mant nights at Florent. I loved that place.
Yes!!! Loved it there. We were all so sad when it closed.
Michael, this is such a beautiful piece of reverence in prose. I'm so sorry for Lesley's loss. Ethan Hawke moved to my neighborhood in Brooklyn, I believe. I used to see him around there all the time, but I did see him wandering around Chelsea years earlier. Also, have you read Don't Call Me Home by Alex Auder? She grew up in the Chelsea Hotel in the 70s and just wrote a brilliant memoir about it. I feel like you'd love it!
Thank you Vivian. That damn Ethan Hawke got around. LOL I've heard about Don't Call Me Home, but I haven't read it yet. I will check it out.
LMAO Hawke made the rounds! Please do and let me know what you think!