wallflour Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=105001805 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echostar Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 thats one of the funniest things ive read all day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilg0retr0ut Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 limelight was very definitely open for business all of last spring, summer and fall ... and where in the world were there any pews? ... the media constantly reports these things and none of it is any true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quest1127 Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 when A-list celebrities like Eddie Murphy, Cheryl Tiegs and Burt Reynolds I love the A-list celebs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRIAN1500 Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 HOUSES OF WORSHIPA Church in the Limelight New York's neo-Gothic temple of hedonism. BY BRIAN MCGUIRE Friday, March 22, 2002 12:01 a.m. EST It was nice while it lasted. But the demise of Limelight--a New York dance club that for nearly two decades traded on the novelty of its setting, a neo-Gothic church--turned out to be brief.In June, federal agents padlocked the club after declaring it a virtual drug warehouse. Its owner, Peter Gatien, went bankrupt soon after. Noise-addled neighbors breathed a sigh of relief. And social observers generally--having long watched in horror the desecration of a beautiful old Manhattan church--felt the loss of a perfect symbol for cultural decline.By December, though, the state had reissued Limelight's liquor license and within days the club was resold. Plans for a September reopening are under way.Limelight's outraged neighbors--the club sits on Sixth Avenue at 20th Street--say that the state cut a deal with Mr. Gatien to reissue Limelight's liquor license if he coughed up $1 million in back taxes. Without the license, they say, Mr. Gatien would never have been able to sell the place. A court battle is likely.And for good reason. Limelight's seediness is legendary. On weekends, long lines of revelers would claw one another for a chance to get into the club, while thumping dance music poured out. Cars clogged the streets. Hordes of club rejects roamed the periphery. Assaults were common. Drugs traded hands, neighbors said, like tickets at a train station."The day before Limelight moved in this was a fairly quiet neighborhood," notes Susan Finley, who lives nearby. "The day after, it was a nightmare."Reams of news stories have chronicled Limelight's sordid history--from opening night, when A-list celebrities like Eddie Murphy, Cheryl Tiegs and Burt Reynolds laughed as one guest arrived on a cross, to later reports of open sex and drug use. A typical night was captured explicitly for Cinemax audiences in the 1998 documentary "Party Monster."The Limelight's new owner is John Blair, a former gym owner from Los Angeles who got into club promotion, he said, after discovering that gym membership lists gave him a client base. Mr. Blair opened his first club, a trendy Manhattan gay bar called XL Lounge, last year.Mr. Blair stood in the club's "nave" recently and spoke of the new Limelight as a neighbor-friendly club. "There were a lot of things this place did wrong," he admitted. But when it reopens, "quality-of-life issues will be better than they've ever been as far as this venue is concerned."Maybe. But entirely lost in the coverage of Limelight's notoriety is the very premise of its existence--that a church can be "reborn" as a temple of hedonism. Before becoming an icon of late-20th-century excess, the building had a rich history of its own.Built in 1846 by renowned Boston architect Richard Upjohn, Holy Communion Episcopal Church was the first asymmetrical Gothic church in America. Upjohn wanted to make the structure, as one historian put it, "an oasis of Christian activity in the city."The Episcopal Church has declared a saint Holy Communion's first rector, the Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg. Among his many good works were the founding of St. Luke's Hospital (today one of New York's largest), the creation of a nunnery adjacent to Holy Communion, and pioneering efforts at interreligious dialogue. In its prime, Holy Communion's parishioners included John Jacob Astor, Jay Gould and Cornelius Vanderbilt.The Rt. Rev. Donald Taylor, an auxiliary bishop, says that the sale of Holy Communion to a drug-rehab center in the early 1970s was done out of "financial necessity," with the "good faith" understanding that it would be used to help the needy. Mr. Taylor calls the church's later sale to Mr. Gatien "a national disgrace." As a result, he notes, the Episcopal diocese has refused to sell any more church property. The diocese has approached the past two owners of Limelight about reacquiring Holy Communion, Mr. Taylor claims, but the asking prices have been too high.Meanwhile, the building where holy communion itself was once celebrated is undergoing its latest incarnation. Not long ago demolition crews descended on its interior to begin a $3.5 million renovation. Soon after, a giant inflated rat appeared outside, put there by a labor group protesting the wages that Mr. Blair is paying.Mr. Blair is keeping specific details about the makeover secret. He would say only that it will be "modern" and that the pews, crucifixes and pulpit will be gone, swept away by the demands of a new generation of clubbers who desire something subtler than blatant sacrilege. He did say that Limelight's new bathrooms--"the most important part of any nightclub"--will be "fabulous." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quest1127 Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 when A-list celebrities like Eddie Murphy, Cheryl Tiegs and Burt Reynolds I love the A-list celebs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallflour Posted March 22 Author Report Share Posted March 22 I remember my cousin telling me about wild stuff that went on in LL way back in the day, I guess before it was closed multiple times for drug rings allegedly going on therePretty hard for us younger folks to imagine LL ever being like that, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realz Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 from what I hear....John Blair is not the 100% owner.and it will be the hottest club in the city... opening in Oct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluidnyc Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 Limelight was... and is the best club on Earth! The good ole days (89 to 95) when steven lewis was at the door with Tom the manager. Michael Alig was promoting at the time, had DISCO 2000 on Wednesday, other parties on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays were just as good. Rock n' Roll Church on Sunday was excellent!!!There will be a movie coming out shortly on the "Michael Alig Story" think the movie is called "CLUB MONSTER" or someshit like that. Too bad he flipped his lid, he was one of the BEST promoters in NYC, and so was that sherlock holmes looking dude who always hooked me up....i forget his name, and also gotta shout to "Darell & Darren" they were just starting out I think.I hear JonBlair is partners with someone. Im not one to gossip but, when it does open I hope Jon, takes a look back on what made LightLight one of the most sucessful clubs in NYC.I dont think they bought Londons & Chicago's Limelights (seperate owners) not sure.bah.. later.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
it290 Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 The article also seems to imply John Blair is new to the club scene... whateva.Can you imagine if this many factual errors appeared in a "real" news story? (Or maybe they do?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liqidxtc Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 well if they're gonna promise fabulous bathrooms, im DEFINITELY there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanNYC Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 i know this is too soon to ask ...but is anybody hearing who the possible residents will be there on Fri and sat night??thanks peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickhouse Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 I find it amusing how the 'neighborhood' is bitching that it might reopen. Because Limelight is so much rowdier than the three other clubs within two blocks of there (Centro, Cheetah, Om). Eh, whatever. Still had some good times there, and I'm sure there will be more in the future...And, yeah, it's WAY too early to ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigpoppanils Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 it better be good, seeing that the new owners are investing $10 million on the renovationhopefully they will get gatecrasher global soundsystem back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghhhhhost Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 Originally posted by realz from what I hear....John Blair is not the 100% owner.and it will be the hottest club in the city... opening in Oct. hes not..what too many peeps dont know is that Gatien stills owns a good chunk of LL..this is one of the reasons that ill b there for re-opening nite..whatever that dude does..whatever kind infamy follows him i could care less..he is the fucking man..hes one of the reasons that NYC's club culture is developed..and i thank him...as for them remodeling LL..man i hope they keep some of the older elements..that place was so much fun.. its a great location..commenting on the building itself isnt necessary...but f they manage to turn it into Exit of SF..wow..im gona cry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandekyd18 Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 i cant wait till it opens! lol i hope it looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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