Reintroducing — A Hotel That Needs No Introduction

As the famed Hotel Chelsea prepared to reopen under the watchful eye of Sean Macpherson, the team at Watson dove through the hotel’s archives — researching, logging, and gathering insights to answer the big question:

How do you build a story that truly honors the past while setting the stage for the future?

In its more than a century anchoring 23rd Street, Hotel Chelsea became a hub for musicians, fabulous eccentrics, and a home to generation-defining artists. Everyone from Andy Warhol to Bob Dylan lived and made art inside these walls. 

Our new-meets-old identity system takes a subtle mix of type and scale reflective of its eclectic and iconic inhabitants while inviting in future art and culture makers. 

Subtle but indelible. Respectful but irreverent. The legacy of the Hotel Chelsea lives on.