Terminal Warehouse Central Stores Building

Tunnel 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 ...

located at 220

Twelfth Avenue The Joe DiMaggio Highway, commonly called the West Side Highway and formerly the Miller Highway, is a mostly surface section of New York State Route 9A (NY 9A), running from West 72nd Street along the Hudson River to the southern t ...

, in the

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

neighborhood of

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 operated from 1986 to 2001. The nightclub was located within the Terminal Warehouse Company Central Stores Building, also known as Chelsea Terminal Warehouse, which is now part of the

West Chelsea Historic District The West Chelsea Historic District is a portion of the neighborhood of Chelsea, Manhattan, Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City. It was designated as the city's 92nd historic district in July 2008 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commissi ...

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

.
"West Chelsea Historic District Designation Report"
p.87

History

Tunnel, less popularly and incorrectly also known as "The Tunnel," was owned by Boaz Aharoni, a real-estate developer, and Elli Dayan, founder and former chairman of Bonjour International, a company best known for blue jeans. The club was built in a space which was formerly a railroad freight terminal. Dayan sold the property to Marco Riccota in January 1990.

Peter Gatien Peter Gatien (born August 14, 1952) is a Canadian club owner and party promoter. He is best known as the former owner of several prominent New York City nightclubs, including Club USA, The Limelight, Palladium, and Tunnel. Life and career Gatien ...

acquired the 80,000-square-foot nightclub in 1992. Tunnel closed its doors late in 2001 due to non-payment of rent and New York City Mayor

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...

's quality-of-life campaign. Gatien had been accused of drug trafficking, charges he was acquitted of, although he and his wife pleaded guilty to tax evasion and were deported to Canada in 2003.

Description

The club was named for the tunnel-like shape of the main room, in which train tracks from the early 1900s ran through a sunken area of the dance floor. These were a relic of an era in which railroad sidings from the Eleventh Avenue freight line of the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

ran directly into warehouse buildings in that area, so that goods could be transferred to and from freight cars which crossed the

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...

car float A railroad car float or rail barge is a specialised form of lighter with railway tracks mounted on its deck used to move rolling stock across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go. An unpowered barge, it is towed by a tugb ...

s from

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...

. The club was architecturally distinctive: a long, narrow space with multiple rooms on several levels. The dance floor featured several dance cages. The decor of the club changed frequently. One room, decorated by artist

Kenny Scharf Kenny Scharf (born November 23, 1958) is an American painter known for his participation in New York City's interdisciplinary East Village art scene during the 1980s, alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Scharf's do-it-yourself pract ...

, was called the Kenny Scharf Lava Lounge. Others were decorated as Victorian libraries, S/M

dungeons A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

, and lounges. The club featured unisex bathrooms, which were the converted locker rooms formerly used by the freight terminal's workers. They had modern stalls with partitions and doors for privacy, extant rows of old lockers attached to the wall, as well as marks where the former shower stalls had been removed. In the late 1980s,

Club Kids The Club Kids were a group of young New York City dance club personalities popularized by Michael Alig, James St. James, Julie Jewels, Astro Erle, Michael Tronn, DJ Keoki, and Ernie Glam in the late 1980s, and throughout the 1990s would grow to i ...

, including

Michael Alig Michael Alig (April 29, 1966 – December 24, 2020) was an American club promoter and convicted felon. He was one of the ringleaders of the Club Kids, a group of young New York City clubgoers who became a cultural phenomenon in the late 1980s a ...

Amanda Lepore Amanda Lepore is an American model, singer, and performance artist. A former Club Kid, she has appeared in advertising for numerous companies. Lepore is noted as a regular subject in photographer David LaChapelle's work, serving as his muse, as ...

, and

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

, often gathered in the V.I.P. room in the basement. During its lifespan, Tunnel frequently hosted

Johnny Dynell Johnny Dynell (born John Savas) is a New York City DJ, record producer, recording artist, remixer, nightclub promoter, and nightlife impresario. Club DJ Dynell started his DJ career at the Mudd Club in 1980 and has been a resident DJ at influent ...

and Roman Ricardo in the late 80s and into the early 90s. More DJs included

Junior Vasquez Junior Vasquez (born Donald Gregory Mattern, August 24, 1949) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He has been referred to as one of the only DJs of his time to gain international attention. Career Mattern moved to New York City a ...

Danny Tenaglia Daniel "Danny" Tenaglia (born March 7, 1961) is an American DJ and record producer. He is a Grammy nominee for the best remixed recording (44th Annual Grammy Award). He is also a three time International Dance Music Award winner, 3 time DJ Awa ...

Jonathan Peters Jonathan Peters (born January 25, 1969) is an American DJ, remixer and producer. He is known for his remix of Whitney Houston's "My Love Is Your Love". He was the long-time resident DJ of the Manhattan nightclub The Sound Factory The Sound ...

, Peregrine Hood, Little Louie Vega, DJ Renegade, Eddie Baez, DJ Justin Time, DJ Corbett, DJ DA, Bobby Rios and Hex Hector after the close of the original Sound Factory in the mid-1990s. It later presented Kurfew, a

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

oriented Saturday night party started by promoter Jeff Brenner and hosted by talent such as

Lady Bunny Lady Bunny, originally known as "Bunny Hickory Dickory Dock" (born Jon Ingle, August 13, 1962), is an American drag queen, nightclub DJ, actor, comedian, and event organizer. She is the founder of the annual Wigstock event, as well as an occasion ...

, DJ Urbanox,

Peppermint Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world.Euro+Med Plantbas ...

, DJ Vito Fun, DJ Redstar (DJ Chris Sharpe on

WLIR WLIR was a radio station that played a new music/modern rock format on the frequencies 92.7 FM, 98.5 FM, and 107.1 FM from the 1980s into the 2000s. Bob Wilson, longtime WLIR employee and historian, created the website WDARE (Dare FM), which m ...

), DJ Michael T,

, DJ Jason, and DJ Steve Sidewalk and introducing young clubbers to talent including

Jonny McGovern Jonny McGovern (born July 12, 1976), also known by his character name The Gay Pimp, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician and podcaster. He has recorded three albums as comedic singer The Gay Pimp, appeared as a cast member of Logo' ...

, and

Cazwell Luke Caswell, known mononomously as Cazwell, is an American rapper, record producer and songwriter. He has released the three studio albums '' Get Into It'' in 2006, '' Watch My Mouth'' in 2009 and ''Hard 2 B Fresh'' in 2014, along with videos an ...

(as Morplay). Legendary doorman, Fernando Sarralha, was the keeper of the velvet rope. While the club attracted primarily gay audiences, it also attracted members of the hip hop community. One advantage of the multiple rooms of the club was the ability to host different types of parties, with as many as five or more DJs spinning different styles of music to varying crowds. In 1998, DJ Amadeus was named the resident DJ at Tunnel.

In popular culture

Celebrities *Actor

Vin Diesel Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. Diesel began audition ...

once worked as a bouncer at Tunnel. *Tunnel was one of the clubs promoted by

and a hangout of the

, before Alig's conviction and subsequent incarceration for murdering Andre "Angel" Melendez. Films *Tunnel is the location of the opening sequence in

Hype Williams Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adel ...

' film ''

Belly Belly may refer to: Anatomy * The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax; or the stomach ** A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumed to be caused by regular beer drinking ** Belly dance * The fleshy, cent ...

'' (1998). *Tunnel was used for a scene in the movie ''

Vampire's Kiss ''Vampire's Kiss'' is a 1988 American black comedy horror film directed by Robert Bierman and written by Joseph Minion. Starring Nicolas Cage, María Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Beals, and Elizabeth Ashley, the film tells the story of a literary ...

'' (1988), filmed between August and October 1987. *The interior of Tunnel was used for the 'ghost train' scene of

Ghostbusters II ''GhostbustersII'' is a 1989 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Rick Moranis ...

. *A scene from

Larry Clark Lawrence Donald Clark (born January 19, 1943) is an American film director, photographer, writer and film producer who is best known for his controversial teen film ''Kids'' (1995) and his photography book ''Tulsa'' (1971). His work focuses prim ...

's film ''

Kids Kid, Kids, KIDS, and K.I.D.S. may refer to: Common meanings * Colloquial term for a child or other young person ** Also for a parent's offspring regardless of age * Engage in joking * Young goats * The goat meat of young goats * Kidskin, lea ...

'' (1995) was shot at Tunnel in the summer of 1994. * In the documentary film, ''Glory Daze: The Life and Times of

'' (2015),

recounts having enjoined the help of an unwitting taxi driver to help him and his co-killer Robert D. "Freeze" Riggs transport and throw into the river, near Tunnel, the box containing the upper body remains of Andre "Angel" Melendez. * A scene from ''

Straight Outta Compton ''Straight Outta Compton'' is the debut studio album by rap group N.W.A, which, led by Eazy-E, formed in Los Angeles County's City of Compton in early 1987. Released by his label, Ruthless Records, on August 8, 1988, the album was produced b ...

'' (2015) shows

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred t ...

meeting up with

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

in a club; Ice Cube says the club was the Tunnel in a radio interview at 6 minutes, 38 seconds. Literature *In

Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author, screenwriter, short-story writer, and director. Ellis was first regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique, as a w ...

' novel, ''

American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by Patrick Bateman, a serial killer and Manhattan investment banker. Alison Kelly of ''The Observer'' notes that while "some countr ...

'' (1991), the club is frequented by

Patrick Bateman Patrick Bateman is a fictional character created by novelist Bret Easton Ellis. He is the villain protagonist and narrator of Ellis' 1991 novel '' American Psycho'' and is portrayed by Christian Bale in the 2000 film adaptation.Guardian Unlimi ...

and his associates as a trendy place to bring women or to purchase

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

. Music *Tunnel was the featured location in

Johnny Kemp Jonathan "Johnny" Kemp (August 2, 1959 – April 16, 2015) was a Bahamian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a songwriter in late 1979 and is perhaps best known for his solo work, including his single " Just Got Pai ...

's video for his classic hit single " Just Got Paid" (1987). *The rap group

Onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The c ...

released a song called "The Tunnel" on their album ''

Wakedafucup ''#WakeDaFucUp'' is the sixth studio album by American hip hop group Onyx (group), Onyx, released on March 18, 2014 by Goon MuSick. The album is entirely produced by Snowgoons. The album features guest appearances from Sean Price, Makem Pay, Papo ...

'' (2014), detailing their history with the historic night club. *Tunnel is featured in

Queen Pen Lynise Walters (born 1972), known professionally as Queen Pen, is an African American rapper, record producer, and novelist. Born in Brooklyn New York, she was discovered by record producer Teddy Riley at a local iHop restaurant in Virginia Be ...

's hit single, "Party Ain't A Party", in the lyric: "catch me on the rebound, or maybe at the Tunnel". *Tunnel is referenced in

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from New York City. The duo consisted of rappers Prodigy and Havoc. They are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hopEdwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: The Art & Scien ...

's track "The Infamous Prelude" off their seminal album, "

The Infamous ''The Infamous'' (stylized as ''The Infamous...'') is the second studio album by the American hip hop duo Mobb Deep. It was released on April 25, 1995, by RCA Records and Loud Records. The album features guest appearances by Nas, Raekwon, Gho ...

" (1995). *The music video for DMX's debut single

Get At Me Dog "Get at Me Dog" is a major-label debut single by American rapper DMX, from his debut album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot''. The single peaked at number 39 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US, making it DMX's third highest peak on the chart, behi ...

was filmed in The Tunnel. *Tunnel is referenced in

Jayo Felony James Savage (born December 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Jayo Felony, is an American rapper from southeast San Diego, California. Career In 1994 Jayo Felony was signed to the label owned by Jam Master Jay from RUN DMC called Jam M ...

's hit single "Whatcha Gonna Do", in the lyric "Went to the Tunnel and brought down the roof". *Tunnel is referenced in

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

's track "Blue Benz" off his thirteenth studio album, "

King's Disease ''King's Disease'' is the thirteenth studio album by American rapper Nas. It was released on August 21, 2020, through Mass Appeal Records and marketed by Universal Music Group. It succeeds his twelfth studio album, ''Nasir'', released two years p ...

" (2020). Television *In the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

TV series ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...

'' episode ''Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda'',

Carrie Bradshaw Caroline Marie "Carrie" Bradshaw is a fictional character from the HBO franchise ''Sex and the City'', portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker. Candace Bushnell created Carrie as a semi-autobiographical character for her column "Sex and the City" in ...

discusses having a "drunken night" at Tunnel at age 22, which resulted in an unplanned pregnancy.

References

Notes {{Reflist Defunct nightclubs in New York (state) Nightclubs in Manhattan Chelsea, Manhattan Eleventh Avenue (Manhattan)

History

Description

In popular culture

See also

References