Gay disco new york

overview

While their significance is often underestimated or dismissed by heterosexual population, bars and other establishments played a pivotal role throughout the 20th century — but particularly in the pre-Stonewall era — as centers for LGBT activism and community.

These spaces, whether always gay friendly or only during certain times of the day or week, gave LGBT people the freedom to be themselves in a way they usually could not be in their personal or professional lives.

This curated collection largely reflects the bar and nightlife scene of downtown Manhattan; as we research more sites we encourage you to reach out to us with suggestions in upper Manhattan and the outer boroughs.

Header Photo

Truman Capote (center) with Liza Minnelli and Steve Rubell at Studio 54 in an undated photo. Photographer and root unknown.

History

Opened in as a cinema called the Commodore Theater, the building became the Village Theater in , offering burlesque, Yiddish vaudeville, Off-Broadway productions, and dwell music events. From to , the space was home to the mythical Fillmore East Music Hall (often referred to as the Fillmore East), which was considered the finest showcase for rock harmony in New York City.

The space had been vacant for a number of years, when, in the late s, entrepreneur Bruce Mailman partnered with designer Charles Terrel to grow and create The Saint. Mailman purchased the abandoned proscenium theater because it could accommodate his vision of a multi-level extravagant club, including a planetarium, which became The Saint’s trademark. Soon after opening, The Saint became the apotheosis of the underground dance world in Brand-new York City, its call, inspired in part, from the nearby New St. Marks Baths, also owned by Mailman.

Working from Mailman’s vision, Terrel designed a futuristic, elevated, 4,square-foot circular dance floor topped by an aluminum dom