Knockdown Center is a cultural space, performance venue, and art center, located in the

Maspeth Maspeth is a residential and commercial community in the borough of Queens in New York City. It was founded in the early 17th century by Dutch and English settlers. Neighborhoods sharing borders with Maspeth are Woodside to the north; Sunnyside t ...

neighborhood of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

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 Center includes has many architecturally notable features: 20,000 square-foot main hall, a backyard nicknamed The Ruins, a large gallery, and several other adjacent halls of varying sizes. Since 2013, Knockdown Center has been the venue of many musical and visual art events. As of 2022, artists who have performed there include

LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy, co-founder of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals, various instruments), Nancy Whang (synthesizer, keyboards, vocals), Pat Mahoney (dr ...

Yung Lean Yung may refer to: * Yung (surname), Chinese surname * Yung Joc, (born Jasiel Robinson in 1983), an American rapper * Yung Wun, (born James Carlton Anderson in 1982), an American rapper * Yung Berg, (born Christian Ward in 1985), an American rapper ...

, and Chelsea Manning. Earlier in the same year, Pitchfork announced an all-new concert series called Pitchfork Presents, to be hosted at the Center. The venue has been called the "Queens' answer to The Kitchen," a reference to the notable avant-garde performance venue in Manhattan's Chelsea district.

History

The building has been in continuous use for 100 years. First constructed in 1903, it was first used as a glass factory by the Gleason-Tiebout Glass Company. In the 1930s, the proprietor of the building transitioned the warehouse for a door manufacturing company. Named the Manhattan Door Factory, this company invented the "knock-down frame," a kind of door which allows contractors to build walls first and then install doors later. The warehouse became vacant in 2010, when the door company moved its operations to New Jersey. In the years that followed until 2013, the grandson of the original proprietor who inherited the grounds began cleaning the building up. A few events began in 2013 before the building was renovated. The building’s first liquor license application was denied in April, 2014 prior to an M.I.A. concert on May 9, 2014. The renovated first floor opened on May 20, 2016 with liquor license after a very contentious two year struggle.

References

{{Coord, 40, 42, 55, N, 73, 54, 49, W, region:US-NY, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1903 Buildings and structures in New York City Culture of Queens, New York Entertainment venues in New York City Maspeth, Queens