HST in NYC

Hunter S Thompson lived in New York during 1957 through 1962. One of his books is The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, a collection of his letters during the period 1955 through 1967. He maintained a voluminous correspondence and the letters include the addresses from which they were sent. This makes it possible to track down the places he lived in New York City. In 1957 and 1958 he lived on the Upper West Side near Columbia University. He then moved to Perry Street in Greenwich village. In later stays in Manhattan he also lived in the East Village and the Upper East Side. Let's track down HST in Manhattan.

December 1957 — January 1958

The first address that appears in The Proud Highway is 110 Morningside Drive, apartment #53, which he shared with Jerry Hawke. This is on the edge of Columbia University. See pages 86-107, at least as numbered in the first Ballantine paperback edition of April 1998, ISBN 0-345-37796-6, which has 683 pages to the end of its index.

February 1958 — April 1958

He made a short move to apartment 5E5 at 562 West 113th Street, also on the edge of Columbia University. [pp 107-115]

April 1958 — January 1959

He moved downtown to 57 Perry Street in Greenwich Village. He described this as a basement apartment with black walls. [pp 115-150]

December 1959

Thompson returned to the city briefly, staying with Dick Murphy at 69 East 4th Street in the East Village. [pp 198]

July–September 1960

He lived with Sandy Conklin at 107 Thompson Street, just south of Houston Street near Greenwich Village. [pp 220-230]

January 1962 — March 1962

He lived at 531 East 81st Street on the Upper East Side. He wrote his address as "c/o Reynolds", so this may have been a sublet. [pp 309-329]

Other addresses included c/o Cooke at 19 Downing St and c/o McGarr at 245 W 104th St. I'm not sure when he lived in those places, he mentions them but didn't send any letters from there.

He also frequented McSorley's Irish bar, 15 East 7th Street, in the East Village.