Studio 54

Studio 54 is a Broadway theatre and a former disco nightclub located on 54th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building opened in 1927 as the Gallo Opera House. It operated as an entertainment venue under various names until 1942, when CBS began using it as a radio and television studio dubbed Studio 52.In 1977, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager opened a nightclub in the building, retaining many of former TV and theatrical sets and naming it for its street. Launched at the peak of the disco dancing and music trend, the club became world-famous, noted for its celebrity guest lists, restrictive entry policies, rampant club drug use, and open sexual activity in the club's infamous balcony and basement VIP rooms. In 1980, the club shut down after its founders were convicted for evading taxes. They sold the club to Mark Fleischman, who reopened it, then sold it in 1984 to new owners, who closed it in 1986.