New York's Legendary Nightclubs
Discover the iconic music venues that avoided the fate of Studio 54 and still thrive today
By Estella Shardlow on Monday 7th March, 2011
It’s 1978 and Andy Warhol is swigging champagne with Jerry Hall and Calvin Klein at a VIP table. Meanwhile, Liza Minnelli, Halston, and Cher are dancing underneath a shimmering disco ball, Debbie Harry and Truman Capote sip martinis at the bar, and Diana Ross has climbed into the DJ booth.
You might even find the White House chief of staff doing lines of cocaine in the basement, or Mick and Bianca Jagger getting up close and personal on the balcony. Indeed, Studio 54 was no stranger to scandal and in its first month it’d already been subject to a notorious drugs bust.
Luminaries from the fashion, art and music spheres gravitated to the legendary nightclub as soon as it opened on 254 West 54th Street in 1977. The site had been an opera house and TV studio before being turned into a nightclub by Queens-based party organisers Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell.
The party couldn’t last forever though. Somewhere so hedonistic, so ballsy had to burn out sooner or later, like many of the stars that once tore up its dance floors. Schrager and Rubell were arrested for skimming $2.5 million off the business accounts and each spent 13 months in prison, their guilt confirmed when the club's walls were found stuffed with wads of cash and bags of cocaine. The legendary club closed its doors for good in March 1986.
However, scattered across New York City there are a handful of nocturnal boltholes with a historic pedigree that have survived Studio 54. They may not rival the infamy of the Studio in its late 70’s heyday, yet these venues frequented by musical and literary icons through the 20th century show that some of New York’s legendary parties live on.
In the basement of 178 7th Avenue South is The Village Vanguard, the speakeasy opened by Max Gordon back in 1935. Today its managed by his wife Lorraine, and every music-loving New Yorker knows this place thanks to its rich musical heritage. It may not be without fault – guests complain of lengthy queues and crammed tables – but the fact it’s virtually unchanged since the 50’s and continues to feature world-class jazz musicians makes it well worth a visit. Feel the ghosts of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane echoing through this atmospheric underground venue.
Harlem jazz club, the Lenox Lounge has served as a performance space for many jazz legends over the last 70 years, including Billie Holiday and Miles Davis. One of New York’s few original remaining Art Deco clubs, Lenox Lounge was voted ‘Best of the Best’ by the 2002 Zagat Survey Nightlife Guide. The Harlem Renaissance writers James Baldwin and Langston Hughes frequented the venue’s Zebra Room, while it’s rumoured that Malcolm X also hung out here in the 60’s.
The Bitter End opened its doors in 1961, replacing the earlier club The Cock and Bull where the city’s bohemian poets once congregated. During the 60’s its folk music parties became legendary. Bob Dylan played there with Patti Smith during the summer of 1975 before embarking on the Rolling Thunder Revue; while albums by Arlo Guthrie, The Isley Brothers and Tommy James among others have been recorded live at the Bitter End. The City of New York bestowed landmark status to the nightclub in 1992.
Greenwich Village club The Café Wha started life as a hotspot for legendary artists and musicians of the Beat Generation in the 60’s. During this revolutionary era Allen Ginsberg came here to sip cocktails as Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix took to the stage. It has dodged the fate of many legendary clubs and is still going strong today showcasing the best new musical talent. Its diverse offering ranges through Brazilian dance bands, Samba, Soul, Motown, Rock and Reggae.
Finally, The Box Nightclub deserves a mention as a latter-day creation in reviving the eclectic atmosphere of old vaudeville theatre. Housed in a defunct 20's sign factory, Serge Becker joined thespians Richard Kimmel, Randy Weiner, and Simon Hammerstein to create this novel, decadent space based on the intimate Hammerstein Ballrooms once built by Simon’s composer grandfather, Oscar. The mezzanine level is decked out with persian rugs and antique bottles discovered during venue's construction, while below an international assortment of circus stars, human oddities and avant-garde performers entertain the hipster crowd beneath gigantic chandeliers.
VS DIRECTORY:
The Village Vanguard www.villagevanguard.com
Lenox Lounge www.lenoxlounge.com
The Bitter End www.bitterend.com
The Café Wha www.cafewha.com
The Box, www.theboxnyc.com
