Bob Dylan's Door At The Chelsea Hotel Sells For $100K

CHELSEA, NY — Bob Dylan's door from the Chelsea Hotel sold for $100,000 on Thursday night in an auction of old doors from the iconic Manhattan guest house.

Doors that housed visionaries like Dylan, Bob Marley and Janis Joplin were auctioned on Thursday in a one-of-a-kind event that saved artifacts from one of New York City's most storied institutions from the dumpster.

The Chelsea Hotel, located at 222 W. 23rd St., housed some of the city's most famous artists and musicians in its heyday. The 12-story building earned a reputation as a New York cultural landmark and a bohemian sanctuary for providing a home to struggling artists who would go on to become cultural icons. Jack Kerouac wrote part of "On the Road" while at the Chelsea, and Leonard Cohen penned the song "Chelsea Hotel #2" about his time there.

The legendary hotel closed to guests in 2011 to undergo extensive renovations. Amid the construction and repair work, a former tenant noticed that the hotel's infrastructure, including its aging doors, was being tossed in the trash. The tenant, Jim Georgiou, had lived at the hotel for nearly ten years before becoming homeless and living on the streets. Georgiou said he would return to the Chelsea to use the bathroom, and on one of his trips he noticed the doors being removed from their hinges by construction workers. Georgiou, realizing the history behind the doors, quickly arranged to rescue them from the trash and transport them elsewhere thanks to friends who had a truck. He then began an extensive research process, interviewing former employees and residents of the hotel and reading up on its history to track down the doors' original residents. Eventually, he contacted the auction house Guernsey's, who arranged Thursday night's event.

"Once I left the hotel, and had access to years of old-timers sharing their memories within its walls, this became the basis for how to proceed with what turned out to be exhaustive research," Georgiou wrote of his research process, through which he identified most of the doors' most famous owners. "What I am disclosing here is a definitive list which includes some of the most important people of the 20th century. In some cases, I did not have strong enough information to make a solid attribute to a specific door. In other cases, there were numerous potential attributions based on the transient nature of hotel living, but only few could be captured definitively like moments frozen in time."

Georgiou, who is no longer homeless, asked that portion of the proceeds from the auction be donated to City Harvest, the food rescue nonprofit.

Georgiou told the New York Times that he had lived in Dylan's former room, housed behind the very door that just sold for $100,000. Dylan's door netted the highest bids of all of the 55 doors auctioned on Thursday, a spokeswoman for Guernsey's said.

Dylan lived in multiple rooms at the Chelsea Hotel, but is believed to have lived in #225 the longest, between 1968 and 1972, according to Guernsey's. Dylan took his name from another Chelsea Hotel resident, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, who fell into a fatal coma in room #205 after his "18th straight whiskey" in 1953.

Dylan also wrote his song "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" at the hotel, the auction house said, and mentioned his home in another song "Sara," which he wrote for his first wife Sara Lownds: "Stayin’ up for days in the Chelsea Hotel / Writin’ “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” for you."

Another top seller from Thursday's auction was the Leonard Cohen's door, which sold for $85,000. At various times, the door also housed Joni Mitchell and (briefly) Janis Joplin, both of whom lived at the hotel. Cohen, who penned the anthem "Hallelujah," met Joplin in 1968 in the elevator of the hotel. The two famously had a one-night stand, and Joplin eventually inspired Cohen's song "Chelsea Hotel #2."

Andy Warhol's door sold for $52,500, and Jack Kerouac's sold for $30,000. Doors belonging to Jimi Hendrix, Madonna, Bob Marley and Jackson Pollock were also auctioned off on Thursday night.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated when Dylan Thomas lived at the Chelsea Hotel.

Image credit: Ciara McCarthy / Patch