Living with Legends

What has happened to Bonnie Kendall?  A number of our neighbors have expressed concern as to the whereabouts of the Chelsea Hotel’s long-time telephone operator.  We haven’t seen her for a couple of months, and we have heard various rumors as to the circumstances under which she left the building.  (It’s been about a year now since her room caught on fire and we’re wondering if that had any connection to her leaving.) We have heard variously that she moved in with an older relative, that she was staying in a shelter in upstate New York, or that she stayed a while with relatives and then disappeared.  If you have any information about Bonnie or know how Bonnie can be reached leave a comment on the blog.  People are hoping that she is ok, but would like to know one way or the other.

For those unfamiliar with Bonnie’s history she was born in West Virginia and had lived in the Chelsea Hotel since 1984 and had been answering the phones since about 1988. (Source: New York Press, July 3-9, 1996) 

(Photo: David Remfry with his painting of Bonnie in the background.)