Pyramid Club
Encyclopedia
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The Pyramid Club is a nightclub
in the East Village
of Manhattan
, New York City
. After opening in 1979, the Pyramid helped define the East Village drag and gay scenes of the 1980s. The club is located at 101 Avenue A
in Manhattan.
In the late 70s and early 80s, when mega-clubs like Studio 54
and The Limelight
, dominated New York nightlife, the struggling artists, actors, musicians, and drag queens who lived in the East Village created their own, more intimately-scaled scene. They began taking over some of the local dive bars, such as the Holiday on St. Mark's Place, and created new clubs where there previously were none, as was the case with Club 57
(in the basement of a church), and 8BC
, on a block of abandoned tenements.
The club became a hangout for “a new breed of politicized drag performers” like Lypsinka, Lady Bunny
, and RuPaul
, whose first New York City show was at the Pyramid Club in 1982. On Labor Day 1985, Pyramid performer Lady Bunny
hosted the Wigstock
Festival in Tompkins Square Park
. Andy Warhol
and Debbie Harry
dropped in the Pyramid to do a feature on the club for MTV
, and Madonna
appeared at her first AIDS
benefit at the club. Both Nirvana
and Red Hot Chili Peppers
played their first New York City concerts there.
In 2007, it was proposed that 101 Avenue A, the Pyramid Club's building, be landmarked. The proposal, described as the first "drag landmark", was not adopted by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
. However, in the spring of 2011 the Landmarks Preservation Commission proposed a new historic district in the East Village focused around lower Second Avenue and encompassing 15 blocks and 330 buildings. The original proposal excluded buildings such as the Pyramid Club, but thanks to efforts made by local community groups such as the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, East Village Community Coalition, Historic Districts Council
, and Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
, the proposed district now includes 101 Avenue A as well as other similar buildings. The districts are calendared to go up before the entire Landmarks Preservation Commission, but a hearing has yet to be scheduled.
The Pyramid Club is a nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
in the East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. After opening in 1979, the Pyramid helped define the East Village drag and gay scenes of the 1980s. The club is located at 101 Avenue A
Avenue A (Manhattan)
Avenue A runs from north to south and is the westernmost of the avenues to be defined by letters instead of using the numbering system in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Avenue A runs from Houston Street to 14th Street, where it continues into a loop road in Stuyvesant Town, connecting to...
in Manhattan.
In the late 70s and early 80s, when mega-clubs like Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
and The Limelight
The Limelight
The Limelight is the name of a chain of nightclubs that were owned and operated by Peter Gatien, located in Atlanta, Hollywood, Florida, and London, and formerly in New York City and Chicago.-History:...
, dominated New York nightlife, the struggling artists, actors, musicians, and drag queens who lived in the East Village created their own, more intimately-scaled scene. They began taking over some of the local dive bars, such as the Holiday on St. Mark's Place, and created new clubs where there previously were none, as was the case with Club 57
Club 57
Club 57 was a nightclub located at 57 St. Mark's Place in the East Village, New York City during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was a hangout and venue for performance- and visual-artists and musicians, including Madonna, Keith Haring, Cyndi Lauper, Charles Busch, Klaus Nomi, The B-52s, Futura...
(in the basement of a church), and 8BC
8BC
8BC was a non-profit performance space and art gallery located in the East Village neighborhood of New York, New York, United States. Founded in 1983, the space was closed by 1985.-History:...
, on a block of abandoned tenements.
The club became a hangout for “a new breed of politicized drag performers” like Lypsinka, Lady Bunny
Lady Bunny
The Lady Bunny is an American drag queen originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who has lived in New York since the 1980s. She is the founder of the annual Wigstock event and is well-known as a nightclub DJ, promoter and celebrity...
, and RuPaul
RuPaul
RuPaul Andre Charles , best known as simply RuPaul, is an American actor, drag queen, model, author, and singer-songwriter, who first became widely known in the 1990s when he appeared in a wide variety of television programs, films, and musical albums. Previously, he was a fixture on the Atlanta...
, whose first New York City show was at the Pyramid Club in 1982. On Labor Day 1985, Pyramid performer Lady Bunny
Lady Bunny
The Lady Bunny is an American drag queen originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who has lived in New York since the 1980s. She is the founder of the annual Wigstock event and is well-known as a nightclub DJ, promoter and celebrity...
hosted the Wigstock
Wigstock
Wigstock was an annual outdoor drag festival that began in the 1980s in New York's East Village that took place on Labor Day. Traditionally the festival would act as the unofficial end to the summer for the gay community of New York City...
Festival in Tompkins Square Park
Tompkins Square Park
Tompkins Square Park is a 10.5 acre public park in the Alphabet City section of the East Village neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is square in shape, and is bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on the...
. Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
and Debbie Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
dropped in the Pyramid to do a feature on the club for MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, and Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
appeared at her first AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
benefit at the club. Both Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
and Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
played their first New York City concerts there.
In 2007, it was proposed that 101 Avenue A, the Pyramid Club's building, be landmarked. The proposal, described as the first "drag landmark", was not adopted by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The Commission was created in April 1965 by Mayor Robert F. Wagner following the destruction of Pennsylvania Station the previous year to make way for...
. However, in the spring of 2011 the Landmarks Preservation Commission proposed a new historic district in the East Village focused around lower Second Avenue and encompassing 15 blocks and 330 buildings. The original proposal excluded buildings such as the Pyramid Club, but thanks to efforts made by local community groups such as the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, East Village Community Coalition, Historic Districts Council
Historic Districts Council
The Historic Districts Council was founded in 1971 as a coalition of community groups from the city’s designated historic districts—of which there were only 18 at the time—primarily to work on special projects and networking...
, and Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation is a non-profit organization that seeks to preserve the architectural heritage and cultural history of several neighborhoods of New York City: Greenwich Village, the East Village, the Far West Village, the South Village, Gansevoort Market,...
, the proposed district now includes 101 Avenue A as well as other similar buildings. The districts are calendared to go up before the entire Landmarks Preservation Commission, but a hearing has yet to be scheduled.
Performers
- Deee-LiteDeee-LiteDeee-Lite was an American house and club/dance group, formed in New York City, United States. The group's best-known single was "Groove Is in the Heart", from their 1990 debut album, World Clique. However, Deee-Lite achieved longer lasting success on the U.S...
- Debbie HarryDebbie HarryDeborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
- International ChrysisInternational ChrysisInternational Chrysis was an American transgender entertainer and protégé to Salvador Dali.-Life and career:Chrysis was a member of the Hot Peaches troupe and appeared briefly in the 1968 documentary The Queen...
- Dean JohnsonDean Johnson (entertainer)Dean Johnson was a transvestite musician, party promoter, and icon of downtown New York City nightlife in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s...
- Lady BunnyLady BunnyThe Lady Bunny is an American drag queen originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who has lived in New York since the 1980s. She is the founder of the annual Wigstock event and is well-known as a nightclub DJ, promoter and celebrity...
- Lypsinka
- MadonnaMadonna (entertainer)Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
- Miss UnderstoodMiss UnderstoodMiss Understood is an American drag queen originally from Levittown, New York, who has been based in New York City since the late 1980s. She was a prominent figure in the East Village drag scene of the early 1990s which revolved around the legendary Pyramid Club and Wigstock, an annual open air...
- NirvanaNirvana (band)Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
- Tabboo
- Wendy WildWendy WildWendy Wild, born Wendy Andreiev was an American singer, musician, and artist who in the 1980s was a well known presence in New York's downtown music and performance scenes.-Career:...