Theatre Turned Studio Turned Nightclub

Today's History Lesson

It was the 70s, era of the Disco Craze. On top of that, Saturday Night Fever had temperatures rising. These were the dancing days. With dancing came places large enough for a spacious dance floor and lots of patrons. Thus, the beginning of the most legendary nightclub of the disco-era.

This Day in History: April 26, 1977

Studio 54 was originally built as the Gallo Opera House in 1927 and transformed into the New Yorker Theatre in 1930. CBS purchased the space in 1942 and made it the home of renowned television shows like "The Johnny Carson Show." CBS sold the space in the late 1970s, and the new owners transformed the space into the most legendary nightclub of the disco-era, Studio 54. The club closed in 1986 and became a venue for rock concerts until it eventually closed completely in the late 1980s. The space remained vacant until 1998, when Roundabout moved its landmark production of Cabaret into the neglected theatre-turned-studio-turned-nightclub. Today, Studio 54 is a permanent home for Roundabout Theatre Company. [Source: Venues & Theatres]

Studio 54 located at 254 West 54th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue in New York City opened its doors for the first time as an exclusive nightclub on April 26, 1977.

Not just anybody was allowed admittance to the most glamorous nightclub of all time. Most never made it past the velvet rope and snooty doormen.

Only the hottest stars and the most beautiful of the beautiful people were permitted entrance. Wannabes would line up along 54th Street hoping to convince doorman Marc Benecke (often aided by Rubell himself) that they made the grade. A lucky few were permitted entrance. As for the rest, Rubell would cut them off at the knees, often with grotesque insults. Fortune Gallo must have been spinning in his grave at the treatment given to potential paying customers in 1979, when they had been so scarce in 1929.
[Source: At This Theatre: Studio 54 (Broadway]

 Studio 54 remained open for only 33 months.

Some say Studio 54 changed the world. It was a place for escapism. No restrictions - sex, drugs and music...LOTS of extraordinarily loud music and dancing, dancing, dancing. Persons of any walk of life passed through its doors. The wait was long, the lines endless, the experience - priceless.

Women were thriving in terms of their sexuality and it was also a great time to be gay. There was no stigma inside Studio 54.”
          - Myra Scheer, Assistant to owner Steve Rubell

Most would-be clubbers never got past the doormen at Studio 54
who were looking for the right mix of people -
especially those with high energy. Read MORE...

 Rod Stewart, Alana Hamilton, and Elton John at Studio 54, circa 1977

Photo Credit: Robin Platzer

Go Inside Studio 54!

It was not unusual to rub elbows with celebrities,
such as Rod Stewart, Alana Hamilton and Elton John.
Frequenters to the club included Dolly Parton, Cher, Diana Ross,
Liza Minnelli, Michael Jackson, Olivia Newton-John,
Bianca Jagger and so-o-o many more!

And the music goes on beating to the rhythm of the changing times...