The Sound Factory 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 ...

first located 532 West 27th Street and then 618 West 46th Street in

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 ...

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 ...

. The Sound Factory was an integral venue during a peak period of

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

in New York. Prominent DJs, artists, and parties appeared at the club. It was in operation from 1989 to 1995. There were other reincarnations of the club until 2004.

History

In 1989, Christine Visca, Phil Smith and Richard Grant opened the Sound Factory in a converted warehouse at 530 West 27th Street in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. DJ Junior Vasquez's association with

vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

- ball houses the

House of Xtravaganza Founded in 1982, the House of Xtravaganza is one of the most publicly recognized “houses” to emerge from the New York City underground ballroom scene and among the longest continuously active. House of Xtravaganza members and the collective gr ...

and the

House of Aviance The House of Aviance (acronym: HOA) is one of the ''"legendary"'' and major vogue- ball houses in the United States, with its base in New York City. It was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1989 by voguer/dancer, record label owner (CEO/ A&R), nig ...

helped bring the Harlem

ballroom scene The Ballroom Scene (also known as the Ballroom community, Ballroom culture, or just Ballroom) is an African-American and Latino underground LGBTQ+ subculture that originated in New York City. Beginning in the late 20th century, Black and Latino ...

to the downtown club scene. Smith became increasingly involved in The Sound Factory Bar, a smaller offshoot gay club. The owners of the Sound Factory were at risk of losing their cabaret license and decided to close the club in 1995. In 1995, Smith converted the venue into the nightclub

Twilo Twilo was an American nightclub in operation from 1995 to 2001 in New York City and from 2006 to 2007 in Miami. The New York location at 530 West 27th Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan regularly attracted a crowd of thousands to its w ...

, which closed in 2001. Grant reopened a new Sound Factory in a warehouse at 618 West 46th Street, but after facing legal issues in 2004, the club was closed.

The Sound Factory Bar

The Sound Factory Bar was an offshoot at 12 West 21st Street that was in operation from 1992 to 1997. The club was previously called Private Eyes which was a popular nightspot in the late 1980s and the early 1990s that for its time had an unusually advanced state-of-the-art video and sound system. In the mid 1990s Private Eyes was then purchased by 2 of the 3 owners of The Sound Factory, and, since the space was smaller, it was renamed the Sound Factory Bar. When the Sound Factory closed in 1995, the Sound Factory Bar continued to operate. Wednesdays housed the recently resurrected Underground Network parties, hosted and promoted by recording artist

Barbara Tucker Barbara Tucker (born March 19, 1967), is an American house and soul singer, songwriter and choreographer born in Brooklyn, New York, US. Tucker had six No. 1 hits on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart in the 1990s and into the 2000s, and seve ...

and

Don Welch Don Welch (June 3, 1932 – August 6, 2016) was an American poet and academic who was born in Hastings, Nebraska. The author of several published poetry collections and a regular contributor to literary magazines, Welch was an English literature p ...

, with

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

winner

Little Louie Vega Luis Ferdinand Vega Jr. (born June 12, 1965), as known as "Little Louie" Vega, is an American DJ, record producer and Grammy Award winner remixer of Puerto Ricans in the United States, Puerto Rican ancestry. He is one half of the Masters at Work ...

as resident DJ. On Thursday nights, "Factoria 21," a tribal house gay night with DJ Merritt and Lord G, and on Friday nights, "Godfather of House"

Frankie Knuckles Francis Warren Nicholls, Jr. (January 18, 1955 – March 31, 2014), better known as Frankie Knuckles, was an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He played an important role in developing and popularizing house music in Chicago during the 1 ...

helmed the decks. On Sunday afternoons, it was the host for "Body Positive Tea Dances," a social for HIV positive men and their friends. The DJs were Mark Cicero and Mark Thomas. Closing out the weekend on Sunday evenings, "Purgatory" a tribal and progressive house gay night with DJ Merritt and DJ Andrew Tonio. One of the most notorious events was a weekly party called MILK Mondays from DJ TPromix that after several years at this location went on to thrive for 9 years around the city. Also, (in the latter Cheetah years)

Cafe con Leche A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

, Cafe Futuro, and Asseteria were weekly Sunday parties. In 1997, the Sound Factory Bar was reopened as Cheetah. The club was closed in 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sound Factory Bar, The Music venues in Manhattan Nightclubs in Manhattan Electronic dance music venues 1989 establishments in New York (state)

History

The Sound Factory Bar

See also

References