I saw a one-man show today. The star, Ned Van Zandt, did heroin with Sid Vicious in the Chelsea Hotel shortly before Sid’s overdose. He drank and drugged with the creative types of the time. They all stayed at the Chelsea Hotel.
Part strikes me as a coordination game. A Schelling point. Artists want to be with artists. Chelsea and Greenwich Village had been artistic hubs. Artists need a place to stay. This particular hotel might have some happenstance trait that makes it The Place. Once it’s The Place, it shall remain so.
In these scenes, there is always A Place. The Algonquin Round Table was a similar structure: influential, passionate artists who enjoyed associating with each other. They started at the Algonquin Hotel, but then evolved into a more portable group. A Movable Feast is this same structure, I’ve heard, but haven’t read.
When you create a context that attracts great people, they want to bring their friends. These places can be created. They’re worth creating.
