A Night in 1979
The loft party, the membership club, and the disco spectacle — the year the city's dancefloors were running in parallel.
By the end of the 1970s, New York's dance culture was running on several tracks at once: the invitation-only loft party, the private gay membership club, and the celebrity-driven uptown disco. Read together on the map, they show how many worlds the same city held after dark.
- 1
The Loft
1970–2016 · NoHo, Manhattan
The invitation-only party that set the template.
Closed - 2
The Gallery
1973–1977 (founding date contested; Wikipedia gives Feb 1972) · Chelsea, then SoHo, Manhattan
Nicky Siano's bridge from the loft to the club.
Closed - 3
Paradise Garage
1977–1987 · Hudson Square / west SoHo, Manhattan
Opened 1977; the room built around its system.
Closed - 4
Flamingo
1974–1981 · NoHo / SoHo border, Manhattan
Private gay membership, ahead of The Saint.
Closed - 5
12 West
1975–1980 · West Village / Meatpacking District waterfront, Manhattan
The far-West-Side waterfront counterpart.
Closed - 6
Studio 54
1977–1980 (Rubell & Schrager); reopened 1981–1986 (Fleischman) · Midtown, Manhattan
The spectacle and the selective door.
Transformed - 7
Xenon
1978–1984 · Midtown, Manhattan
Studio 54's chief rival at the peak.
Closed - 8
Hurrah
1976–1981 · Lincoln Square, Manhattan
Uptown 'rock disco' with video screens.
Closed