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All the Netherlands Amsterdam Chet Baker Memorial Relief

Chet Baker Memorial Relief

In 1988, jazz legend Chet Baker fell to his death from a window of this hotel facing Amsterdam Centraal.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Added By
Fred Cherrygarden
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The plaque.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
The plaque.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Chet Baker Memorial Relief.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
The hotel stands between the station and the red-light district.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Early on May 13, 1988, jazz legend Chet Baker was found dead on the street in Amsterdam, right outside the Hotel Prins Hendrik where he had spent the night. There were heroin and cocaine in his room as well as in his body, and the death was ruled an accident; he must have fallen from the second-story window by mistake, hitting his head hard on the pavement.

He was buried at the Inglewood Park Cemetery in California, and a memorial plaque was installed at the site of his death. The relief on the hotel's outer wall shows the Prince of Cool playing the trumpet, with an inscription below: "He will live on in his music for anyone willing to listen and feel."

The memorial is relatively obscure to regular tourists, but remains a site of pilgrimage for lovers of jazz.

Related Tags

Plaques Music History Memorials Jazz

Know Before You Go

The Hotel Prins Hendrik is just a few minutes' walk from Amsterdam Centraal Station. As it is placed outside, one can view the memorial plaque at any hour of the day, guests or not.

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Added By

Fred Cherrygarden

Published

May 29, 2024

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Chet Baker Memorial Relief
53 Prins Hendrikkade
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam, 1012 AC
Netherlands
52.376527, 4.899595
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