Site of Paradise Garage, 1977-1987 (demolished)

Paradise Garage was a memebers' only, semi-underground club that didn't advertise and, until shortly before it closed, lacked any identifying signage. But it nonetheless succeeded in becoming one of Manhattan's most beloved and influential nightclubs and survived for a decade, while other clubs opened and closed in short order. And while the club was membership only, it famously did not discriminate and welcomed a diverse and eclectic mix of patrons.

The club was the work of Michael Brody, who opened the venue in 1977 even though the building, a former parking garage, was not yet completely remodeled. He hosted a series of "construction parties" throughout the following year as the building's renovation continued. The club was only open on weekends, and patrons entered up a long ramp that led to the second floor.

A crucial part of Paradise Garage's success was bringing in DJ Larry Levan, who worked with legendary sound system designer Richard Long to design a custom sound system for the club. The sound system, as well as Levan, soon became synonymous with Paradise Garage. Levan's taste in music spanned multiple genres, as does the roster of musicians who performed at the club. Musical acts who performed there included New Order, Whitney Houston, Natalie Cole, Duran Duran, Patti LaBelle, and Cyndi Lauper, to name just a few. As DJ, Levan's main concern was to keep people dancing for long hours (the Garage did not serve alcohol and could thus stay open later than many clubs). His influence was such that a song he played on the weekend would likely appear on radio stations the following Monday, and make it to the Billboard charts within weeks. Some of the biggest hits of the 1980s--such as Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield"--got their starts because Levan liked and played them.

Levan, who kept clubgoers on the 5,000 square foot dance floor going until the wee hours of morning, is regarded as a pioneer in the development of house music. House music emerged in Chicago and made its way to New York City, where two of the most well-known house DJs, Junior Vasquez and Danny Tenaglia, were regulars at the Garage.

It wasn't only the music that made Paradise Garage special. Owner Brody envisioned the club as a place that welcomed ethnic and sexual minorities, hence its members-only status. Many of the club's members were gay African American men, and Brody was insistent that the club never become overrun with outsiders. In the years before AIDS ravaged the city, the Garage was a kind of utopia for gay men, a welcoming space insulated from the world outside.

But the Garage, like every other aspect of life for gay men in the city, was eventually hit hard by the epidemic. Numerous regulars became sick and died, and Brody himself died of AIDS two months after the club closed in 1987. In April of 1982, the Gay Men's Health Crisis held its first fundraiser at the Garage, an event that raised $50,000.

Paradise Garage closed in 1987 after a marathon, three-day "last night" party. The building was demolished in 2018 and the building that now occupies the site is another parking garage.

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Paradise Garage , NYC LGBT Sites . Accessed October 9th 2020. https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/paradise-garage/.

Beta, Andy . The Larry Levan Bump: How the Legendary Paradise Garage DJ Ignited Some of the 80s Biggest Hits , Pitchford . August 26th 2015. Accessed October 9th 2020. https://pitchfork.com/features/article/9710-the-larry-levan-bump-how-the-legendary-paradise-garage-dj-ignited-some-of-the-80s-biggest-hits/.

Pareles , Jon. Paradise Garge, A Gay Club that Forever Changed Night Life , New York Times . June 18th 2000. Accessed October 9th 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/18/style/paradise-garage-a-gay-club-that-forever-changed-night-life.html.