Nude Male in Hells Kitchen Kitchen in 1956. The tenement apartments there were known to be very hot and lacked air conditioning which might explain his Nudity. The Name of Hells Kitchen comes from the story of "Dutch Fred the Cop", a veteran policeman, who with his rookie partner, was watching a small riot on West 39th Street near Tenth Avenue. The rookie is supposed to have said, "This place is hell itself", to which Fred replied, "Hell's a mild climate. This is Hell's Kitchen."