Area (nightclub)

Area was a themed nightclub at 157 Hudson Street in Manhattan, New York City which operated from 1983 to 1987. The theme of the club changed roughly every six weeks, and the club was redecorated for each theme change. Themes included "Night" (with a masked welder), "Surrealism", "Suburbia", "Red", and "Gnarly" (with skate ramps and boarders). Jennifer Goode was the 'theme girl' for the club. Many of the artists who did installations at Area later went on to become well known. Jean-Michel Basquiat displayed work there, as did Kenny Scharf and Reno Dakota, who made the film “American Fabulous”, worked on an Area installation.^[1] The club was also known for the theme announcements/invitations, the first one for the club including a capsule which disintegrated in water and included the paper invitation.^[2] The Sound System was designed and installed by Richard Long of Richard Long & Associates (RLA).

The club was founded by brothers Eric Goode and Christopher Goode, Shawn Hausman and Darius Azari. The brick building housing Area was originally built in 1866 to house the stables of the American Express Company. ^[3] The club was open from Wednesday to Saturday, 11 pm till 4 am.^[4] Like many New York clubs of the time, crowds waiting around the door on popular nights were handled by very selective doormen.

Area attracted many celebrities. Michael Musto, writing for Details magazine, chronicled the doings there, and looked back on the phenomenon in his book Downtown.^[5] There are several mentions of Area in Andy Warhol's diaries. Besides the large dance floor and the long glass topped silver bar, the club was known for its large comfortable ladies' lounge, where men and women could be found performing illicit activities in the stalls. Men and women used both bathrooms, as detailed in Andy Warhol's diaries.^[6]

Demise

Of the "three hot clubs" in lower Manhattan in the 1980s—Area, Limelight, and Danceteria - Area "[died] a natural death", Limelight survived with a less artistic clientele, and Danceteria "[gave] way to expensive office space". ^[7]

After gentrification of the neighborhood, the building was converted to multifamily residential use, with terraced penthouses atop the existing structure.^[8]

References

1. ^ O'Brien, Glenn: "Culture Club", T: The New York Times Style Magazine, August 27, 2006.
2. ^ Kornbluth, Jesse: "Inside Area: The Wizardry of New York's Hottest Club", New York Magazine, pgs 32-41, March 11, 1985.
3. ^ Lewine, Edward (May 25, 1997). "Is Downtown Dead?". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE1DA103BF936A15756C0A961958260. 
4. ^ “The Club Beat” New York Magazine, July 2–9, 1984. p.70-76.
5. ^ Musto, Michael (1986). Downtown. Knopf. ISBN 978-0394742854. 
6. ^ Warhol, Andy; Hackett, Pat (ed.). The Andy Warhol Diaries. New York: Warner Books, 1989: 633.
7. ^ Miller, Daniel (2001). Consumption: critical concepts in the social sciences. Taylor & Francis. p. 447. ISBN 9780415242691. ISBN 9780415242691. http://books.google.com/books?id=uAe6U6y-i1EC&pg=PA427&lpg=PA427&dq=Downtown+Musto&source=web&ots=cQygaNXNvS&sig=20PabtiIo1FkeaGGL1xinnzm9r8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=11&ct=result. 
8. ^ McFarlane, Skye H. (October 13, 2006). "Building lofts where clubbers and horses once roamed". New York: Downtown Express. http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_179/buildingloftswhere.html. 

External Links

• Steve Lewis, Five Easy Pieces: The Best Nightclubs in the History of New York City, BlackBook, August 26, 2009