Bond International Casino (sometimes called "Bond's") was a

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 ...

and

music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Ty ...

located on the east side of Broadway between 44th and 45th Streets near

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

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 ...

. The venue operated as the International Casino in the 1930s, a popular dinner club (not a gambling house). The club closed by 1940, the vacant location later converted to Bond Clothes, a men's clothing emporium. Starting in 1980, the location again operated as a nightclub, merging the names of the two previous businesses as Bond International Casino. The new venue had a capacity of 1,800 people. Notable 1980s performers included Blue Öyster Cult,

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 ...

, Blondie, The Plasmatics,

Slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, The Dead Kennedys and

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

. The space was completely remodeled and reopened in 1988 as the Criterion Center, a pair of live theatre venues, with the larger being a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

-eligible theatre; in 1991 the venues were leased to the

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabet ...

, which used them until 1999, when the building was completely gutted to make room for a flagship Toys R Us store.

References

Broadway (Manhattan) Defunct nightclubs in New York (state) Former music venues in New York City Nightclubs in Manhattan Theater District, Manhattan {{music-venue-stub