Constructed of red brick with lacy wrought-iron balconies and a mansard roof, this pleasingly out-of-place, 11-story neighborhood landmark opened in 1884 as a cooperative apartment house. It became a hotel in 1905, although it has always catered to long-term tenants, with a tradition of broad-mindedness that has attracted many creative types. Its literary roll call of former live-ins includes Mark Twain, Eugene O'Neill, O. Henry, Thomas Wolfe, Tennessee Williams, Vladimir Nabokov, Mary McCarthy, Brendan Behan, Arthur Miller, Dylan Thomas, William S. Burroughs, and Arthur C. Clarke (who wrote the script for 2001: A Space Odyssey while living here). In 1966 Andy Warhol filmed a group of fellow artists, including Brigid Polk and Nico, in eight rooms; the footage eventually became included in The Chelsea Girls (1967). The hotel was also seen on screen in I Shot Andy Warhol (1996) and Sid and Nancy (1986), a dramatization of the real-life murder of Nancy Spungen, who was stabbed to death here by her boyfriend, punk rocker Sid Vicious. The shabby aura of the hotel is part of its allure. Read the commemorative plaques outside, then check out the eclectic collection of art in the lobby, some donated in lieu of rent by residents down on their luck. In the building's basement, accessible from the street, is the stylish bar Serena. Subway: 1, 9, C, E to 23rd St.