Area was a themed

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

that operated from 1983 to 1987 at 157 Hudson Street in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It was a hot spot for celebrities and luminaries of the New York art scene. The club was known for its unusual invitations and changing themes.Kornbluth, Jesse
"Inside Area: The Wizardry of New York's Hottest Club"
''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...

'', pp. 32-41, March 11, 1985. Area was founded by brothers Eric Goode and Christopher Goode, Shawn Hausman and Darius Azari. The life of the club is chronicled in the book ''Area: 1983-1987'' (2013) by Eric and Jennifer Goode.

History

The brick building housing Area was originally built in 1866 to house the stables of

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

. From its inception, the club became known for its creative invitations. 5,000 invitations were sent in capsules for the September 1983 opening. They sent champagne-bottle crackers for New Year's Eve, hollowed-out eggs for Natural History, and black handkerchiefs for Halloween. The club was opened on Mondays and Wednesday through Saturday. The themed decors changed every six weeks with themes such as Art, Confinement, Suburbia, and Science Fiction that incorporated elaborate installations. Serge Becker was the art director. Their art department also consisted of Jennifer Goode, Michael Staats, Kenny Baird. Ben Buchanan was the official photographer for the club and was there most nights documenting the scene. These photos were in ''Details'' every month and often in the ''New York Post'' and ''Daily News''. Area attracted many celebrities such as

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

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, and

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...

. There are several mentions of Area in ''

The Andy Warhol Diaries ''The Andy Warhol Diaries'' is the dictated memoirs of the American artist Andy Warhol, posthumously published. It was edited by his frequent collaborator and long-time friend, Pat Hackett. Warner Books first published it in 1989 with an introdu ...

''.

Michael Musto Michael Musto (born December 3, 1955) is an American journalist who has long been a prevalent presence in entertainment-related publications, as well as on websites and television shows. Musto is best known as a columnist for ''The Village Voice ...

, writing for ''

Details Detail(s) or The Detail(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Details'' (film), a 2003 Swedish film * ''The Details'' (film), a 2011 American film * ''The Detail'', a Canadian television series * "The Detail" (''The Wire''), a television epis ...

'' magazine and ''

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'' respectively, chronicled the doings there. Musto's book, ''Downtown'' looked back on the phenomenon. In February 1985,

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning playwright

Jonathan Larson Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent'' and '' Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, ...

conceived of his unpublished musical ''Superbia'' while in Area's projectionist's booth. By early 1987, Area had closed. Of the "three hot clubs" in lower Manhattan in the 1980s—Area, Limelight, and

Danceteria Danceteria was a nightclub that operated in New York City from 1979 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. The club operated in various locations over the years, a total of three in New York City and four in the Hamptons. The most famous locat ...

- Area " ieda natural death",Limelight survived with a less artistic clientele, and Danceteria "

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way to expensive office space," said Musto. After the

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

of the neighborhood, the building was renovated by Kevin Kennon Architects to multifamily residential use, with terraced penthouses atop the existing structure.

References

External links

Steve Lewis, Five Easy Pieces: The Best Nightclubs in the History of New York City
BlackBook, August 26, 2009. {{Tribeca, Manhattan Nightclubs in Manhattan Defunct nightclubs in New York (state) Tribeca