Studio 54 (1977-1986)

Designed by significant Italian American architect Eugene De Rosa, this building originally opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927. After a wildly expensive and unpopular run of La bohème, the theatre struggled to make a successful comeback and closed two years later due to the Wall Street crash of 1929. The space was occupied briefly by other tenants. In 1933, it was opened as the Casino de Paris nightclub. Then in 1937, thanks to funding from the Works Progress Administration, the building was converted to the WPA Federal Music Project of New York City's Federal Music Theatre- more commonly known as the 'Theatre of Music.' The building changed hands again and in 1939 was the home of The New Yorker Theatre. This company hosted a variety of traveling performers including an all-Black production of The Swing Micado from Chicago. The last show in The New Yorker Theatre finished its run in May of 1940, leaving the building vacant for three years.

Then, in 1943, CBS purchased the property and dubbed it "Studio 52"- since CBS studios were named in order of their purchase and this studio was the broadcast company's 52nd acquisition. Through the mid-1970s, Studio 52 hosted recording and filming for numerous CBS radio and television shows. These included Captain Kangaroo, What's My Line?, The $64,000 Question, Ted Mack and the Original Amateur Hour, The Jack Benny Show, Love of Life, Beat the Clock, I've Got a Secret, To Tell the Truth, Password, and Video Village. CBS moved most of its production operations to its CBS Broadcast Center and Ed Sullivan Theater spaces in New York City. The company sold Studio 52 in 1976.

The following year, the space was purchased by young entrepreneurs Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, with the financial backing of Jack Dushey. With $400,000 in only 6 weeks, the theater was transformed into a new nightclub disco called Studio 54. The club featured a high end, constantly-changing lighting system which lent a dynamic feel to the dancefloor. There were also a wide variety of moving set pieces which could be rolled out and removed quickly. Studio 54 opened to the public on the night of April 26, 1977.

Thanks to its glamorous design, interest in Studio 54 was already immense and rapidly growing. The nightclub quickly became famous for a highly selective and highly subjective quick-paced screening process done at the door by the bouncers and club co-owner Steve Rubell. Every night the dancefloor would hold a new and diverse crowd of artists, celebrities, socialites, drag queens, elites, and random individuals from any background. In particular, notable people who attended Studio 54 include Michael Jackson, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Grace Jones, Cher, Truman Capote, Woody Allen, Liza Minelli, Donald and Ivana Trump, Tina Turner, Eartha Kitt, Calvin Kline, Freddie Mercury, Diana Ross, and Elton John. Despite its celebrity guest list, however, fame was not a requirement for gaining entry to Studio 54. One of the nightclub's most beloved regulars was Sally Lippman, a 77-year-old Jewish former lawyer and widow from who went by the nickname "Disco Sally." The nightclub was renowned for its excess. On New Years one year at Studio 54, event planner Robert Isabell had four tons of glitter trucked in and dumped into the nightclub. The glitter coated the floor five inches deep and reportedly felt like "standing on stardust."

Studio 54 was also renowned for its excessive and open drug use. The phenomenon was so well-known that it nearly caused a major political crisis in 1979 when the FBI launched an investigation after allegations broke that President Jimmy Carter's Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan had used cocaine at a party in Studio 54. The charges fell through, but the FBI began taking interest in Studio 54's owners. After Steve Rubell publicly claimed that Studio 54 made $7 million during its first year, the IRS opened an investigation. The nightclub was raided and both Rubell and Shrager were arrested on charges of tax evasion. One final party was held at Studio 54 on February 2, 1980. Guests that night included Liza Minelli, Diana Ross, Jack Nicholson, Farrah Fawcett, Richard Gere, and Sylvester Stallone. Rubell and Schrager both spent 13 months in federal prison for tax evasion. Steve Rubell died of AIDS-related complications in 1989. On January 17, 2017, President Barack Obama pardoned Ian Schrager.

In September of 1981, Rubell and Schrager reopened Studio 54 with building owner Mark Fleischman. The new Studio 54 closed permanently in April of 1986. A new nightclub briefly operated in the space, then an entertainment company purchased the venue and used it as a live performance space for punk, new wave, and heavy metal shows. The nightclub was restored by a new owner in 1994, and subsequently hosted a disco concert with Sister Sledge, Gloria Gaynor, and Vicki Sue Robinson. That club filed for bankruptcy two years later. Then, in July of 1998, a construction hoist collapsed in front of the entrance to the Henry Miller Theatre, preventing access to the building for a time and inspiring the Roundabout Theatre Company to move their performances of Cabaret to Studio 54. In 2003, the Roundabout Theatre Company purchased the building and continues to hold performances at the venue. Underneath the theatre, a fine dining restaurant and cabaret called Feinstein's/54 Below pays homage to the space's former use as an iconic nightclub. Tours of the building are available through the Roundabout Theatre Company's website.

HISTORY.com Editors. Studio 54 Opens in New York City, HISTORY.com. September 13th 2009. Accessed November 13th 2020. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/studio-54-opens.

Nir, Sarah Maslin. On Obama’s Pardon List: A Hotel Magnate Who Owned Studio 54, The New York Times. January 18th 2017. Accessed November 13th 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/nyregion/obama-pardons-ian-schrager.html.

NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. Studio 54 (originally Gallo Opera House), NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. 2017. Accessed November 13th 2020. https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/studio-54/.

Vintage Everyday. The Grandmama of NYC Nightlife: Pictures of Sally Lippman aka Disco Sally Doing Some Fancy Stepping at New York Discotheques in 1978, Vintage News Daily. June 26th 2020. Accessed November 13th 2020. https://vintagenewsdaily.com/the-grandmama-of-nyc-nightlife-pictures-of-sally-lippman-aka-disco-sally-doing-some-fancy-stepping-at-new-york-discotheques-in-1978/.

Weber, Bruce. Robert Isabell, Who Turned Events Into Wondrous Occasions, Dies at 57, The New York Times. July 11th 2009. Accessed November 13th 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/nyregion/11isabell.html.