Holly Hotel (Washington Square)

Hotel near Washington Square in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. In Hayden Herrera’s Frida it is where Frida, fleeing to New York in 1935, decides to go back to Diego after the Cristina affair.

At a glance

Source	Author	Role	In one line
Frida	Hayden Herrera	journey waypoint	Frida’s 1935 refuge with Mary Schapiro, where she resolves to accept a marriage of mutual independence.

Frida — Hayden Herrera (1983)

Source: Frida - A Biography of Frida Kahlo · Original · Readwise highlight

There, Mary (recently separated from her husband) and Frida stayed together at the Holly Hotel near Washington Square, and after confiding her troubles to Lucienne Bloch and to Bertram and Ella Wolfe, Frida came to a resolution.

• Role: journey waypoint
• In the book: In Chapter 12, after a six-day flight with many forced landings and a final stretch by train in July 1935, Frida stays here with Mary Schapiro. She confides in Lucienne Bloch and the Wolfes and, as Bertram Wolfe puts it, knows it is Diego she loves; she writes him her letter of July 23.
• Why it matters: The stay is where Frida turns from flight to reconciliation, accepting the terms of independence that shape the marriage afterwards.
• Real vs. fictional: Real hotel; ⚠️ the pin is Washington Square itself, as the exact address was not confirmed.