A Weekend in 1995
The megaclub era at its height — when a single weekend meant hopping the big rooms before ending up at after-hours.
By the mid-1990s, New York nightlife ran on a circuit. A weekend could mean the Club Kids on a Wednesday, a cavernous West Side megaclub on Friday, a marathon dance room on Saturday, soulful house on Sunday — and, when everything else closed, an after-hours in Alphabet City. This trail follows that weekend arc through the rooms that defined the era, much of it Peter Gatien's empire, before the city's 'quality of life' campaign shut most of it down by the early 2000s.
- 1
Limelight
1983–2007 (intermittent) · Flatiron, Manhattan
Wednesday: Disco 2000 and the Club Kids spectacle.
Transformed - 2
Palladium
1985–1997 · Union Square, Manhattan
The multi-floor art-club, still drawing crowds.
Transformed - 3
Tunnel
1986–2001 · Chelsea, Manhattan
Friday on the West Side, the cavernous main room.
Closed - 4
Sound Factory
1989–1995 (original room) · Chelsea, Manhattan
Junior Vasquez's marathon, vocal-driven Saturday nights.
Closed - 5
Twilo
1995–2001 · Chelsea, Manhattan
1995: the same West 27th room, reborn with a sound system to match.
Closed - 6
Sound Factory Bar
early–mid 1990s · Flatiron, Manhattan
The smaller, soulful, Latin-house alternative.
Closed - 7
Roxy
1978–2007 · Chelsea, Manhattan
Saturday: the long-running gay night.
Closed - 8
Shelter
1991–present (across venues) · Midtown, Manhattan
Sunday into Monday: deep, soulful house.
Transformed - 9
Save the Robots
1983–1990s · East Village, Manhattan
And when everything closed, the night continued in Alphabet City.
Closed