Not even those who got inside the club could all make it into the basement. As actress Grace Jones recalled in her memoir:Ĭelebrities headed for the basement. Only a select few were invited down to the room, which was discretely patrolled by security men with walkie-talkies who would get rid of any unwanted onlookers. One of the most popular was the basement it might have been dingy, but it had secluded corners furnished with mattresses. There were many hidden rooms inside Studio 54. You wouldn’t believe the things those guys used to find: jewels, pills, money, cashmere scarves, a camera with an ounce of coke in it. Even the room where the guys who cleaned up kept their brooms had a sofa in it. He told Vanity Fair:Įvery nook and cranny was turned into a party room. Richie Notar was a teenager when he worked as a busboy at Studio 54. And every space in the club was put to use. A stairway off the entrance hall led to a lounge, another bar, and a curved balcony with rows of velvet seats. Behind the bar was the huge dance floor with an 85-foot ceiling. The long entrance led to a big round bar. Photo:Ī post shared by Bill Bernstein 54 had a capacity of 2,000, but because of its design, it never felt overcrowded. After being sold to another owner, the club closed in 1986.īelow are some of the firsthand stories from Studio 54's heyday. They sold the club to Marc Fleischman, but although he attempted to keep the party going, Studio 54's glory days were over. Two days later, they began jail sentences on tax evasion charges. On February 2, 1980, Rubell and Schrager threw themselves a huge farewell party. Several factors led to the abrupt end to Studio 54's reign as New York City's most infamous party scene: greed, drugs, the end of the carefree '70s, and the looming spectre of the AIDS crisis. That night set the tone for the "anything - no matter how 'shocking' - goes" vibe, and Studio 54 quickly became the hottest night spot in the city, a place where celebrities and "regular people" mingled - if one was lucky enough to get past the strict door policy. The opening was chaotic, with traffic grinding to a halt on 54th Street and a drug-fueled street party breaking out among some of the clubgoers unable to get into the venue. For a period of 33 months in the late 1970s, Studio 54 reigned as the wildest and most successful disco - or nightclub - in New York City. Founded by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, two Brooklyn natives who had met while attending Syracuse University, the nightclub opened on April 26, 1977.
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