The Limelight - Stunning Photos From 1990s Favorite NYC Nightclub (2024)

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New York City after dark in the '90s was an ecstatic time captured by photographer Steve Eichner.

The Limelight - Stunning Photos From 1990s Favorite NYC Nightclub (4)

New York City after dark in the ‘90s was an ecstatic fever dream fueled by club kids’ outrageous fantasies, and as house photographer for Peter Gatien’s four iconic clubs, Steve Eichner had a ringside seat for all the action. To celebrate the October 20 release of “In the Limelight: The Visual Excess of NYC Night Life in the 90s”, Eichner’s new book with Gabriel Sanchez, Patch takes you back to his old stomping grounds in a series of five articles. Our club-hop starts with the titular Limelight, Gatien’s first—and still favorite—New York club.

When Canadian-born club impresario Peter Gatien came to New York City in the early ‘80s, after running previous incarnations of the Limelight in Atlanta and Florida, the eye-patch wearing promoter hit the jackpot. His good eye spotted the ideal location for an NYC Club: a deconsecrated Gothic Revival church with ornate stained glass windows on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 20th Street in Chelsea.

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Opened in late ‘83, the New York Limelight quickly emerged as a disco hotspot. But it wasn’t until the ‘90s, when the club opened Rock and Roll Church and became a mecca for A-List celebs and club-kid superstars, that the Limelight exploded as a supernova.

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“I was always looking for the best party, and going to parties in a church was always the irony of Limelight,” recalls Eichner. “The club designers restored and backlit the giant stained glass windows depicting biblical scenes, so it looked like sunlight was pouring through them. They were a constant reminder that we were desecrating a holy place.”

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The artists who played in Limelight’s Rock and Roll Church weren’t exactly the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, either. Eichner shot a who’s who of ‘90s stars from multiple genres: Fishbone, House of Pain, Madonna, TLC, Joe Strummer, Boy George, Tupac, Nina Cherry, and RuPaul, to name a few. Meanwhile, over in the Limelight’s Disco 2000, ravers dressed in outlandish drag dancing to throbbing beats also caught Eichner’s eye as he wandered through the club’s colliding worlds, where anything could and did happen.

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The Limelight - Stunning Photos From 1990s Favorite NYC Nightclub (9)
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“You’d see Wall Street suits and ties next to drag queens, next to people from the Bronx, next to hip hop artists,” says Eichner. And there were plenty of places for the subgroups to mix it up, like Limelight’s notorious Shampoo Room.

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The Limelight - Stunning Photos From 1990s Favorite NYC Nightclub (12)

“It was a sort of above-ground pool filled with thick foam, where you jump in with your friends and swish around in there to thumping music,” recalls Eichner. “And every now and then, someone would emerge from the foam and get hosed off with an air gun. I thought it was the greatest idea ever. Imagine being drunk or high, and you discover this soap pit of joy!

I had to get in there myself once or twice.”

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Eichner’s mandate from Gatien was “to capture celebrities to get publicity for the clubs by selling photos to newspapers or magazines,” a task at which he excelled. But after catching Page Six fodder like Tommy Lee and Pam Anderson canoodling in one of Limelight’s dark corners, he was free to roam around. “80% of the photos in the book are the photos that I shot for myself,” says Eichner. “Either artistically, or to document the era.”

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Eichner documented a nude photoshoot on Sixth Avenue right outside the Limelight and snapped an Adidas fashion show inside the club with Run DMC providing the music. But his favorite subjects of all were the club kids dressed to kill for a night on the town. “Limelight was the breeding ground for so much culture, and you couldn’t be part of it on your phone from your basem*nt.” Eichner points out. “There was no social media. You had to get out. You had to be in it.”

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The Limelight - Stunning Photos From 1990s Favorite NYC Nightclub (19)

All photos are by Steve Eichner and can be seen featured in his new book called "In The Limelight - The Visual Ecstasy of NYC Nightlife in the 90s"

Steve Eichner is a legendary nightlife photographer. After his tenure in the clubs, he worked as a staff photographer for Women’s Wear Daily for nearly two decades. His photographs have been published in Vogue, The New York Times, Newsweek, TIME, Rolling Stone, People, Vanity Fair, Cosmo, Details and GQ.

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The Limelight - Stunning Photos From 1990s Favorite NYC Nightclub (2024)

FAQs

What was the Limelight club in the 90s? ›

The New York Limelight originally started as a disco and rock club. In the 1990s, it became a prominent place to hear techno, goth, and industrial music. The club was attractive to the people of NYC because it was inclusive.

What was New York's most famous nightclub? ›

The inside story of Studio 54, New York's most legendary club ever.

What happened to the Tunnel nightclub? ›

Tunnel closed its doors late in 2001 due to non-payment of rent and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani'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.

What were nightclubs like in the 90s? ›

Going out in the '90s primarily meant going to one of the city's mega clubs, huge places with an ever-changing carousel of costumes, faces, themed parties and rooms, and the latest, most addictive music. It was the antithesis of boredom, a form of creative chaos like nothing else!

What year did the Limelight close? ›

First a disco and rock club, the Limelight became a popular venue for techno and goth music in the 1990s, when it also got the reputation as a drug dealing center. After numerous re-openings following police raids, the Limelight finally closed its doors in 2007.

Who were the Club Kids from the 90s? ›

As the 1990s began, the front line of the Club Kids became occupied by a younger group of dynamic personalities that were discovered and mentored by Alig, such as Waltpaper, Jennytalia (Jenny Dembrow), Desi Monster (Desi Santiago), Astro Erle, Christopher Comp, Pebbles, Keda, Kabuki Starshine, Sacred Boy, Sushi, Lil ...

Who owns the tunnel club in NYC? ›

for New York Magazine at his club in 1987. ©John.

What is the dress code for the tunnel club? ›

It is the ticket holder's responsibility to ensure all guests behave responsibly. Manchester City operates a smart casual dress code. No tracksuits, sportswear, caps, shorts, trainers (of any variety) football shirts, ripped or bleached jeans are allowed.

What happened to the 21 Club in New York? ›

Pandemic and closure

In March 2020, indoor dining at all New York City restaurants, including 21 Club, ceased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, the club's managers stated that it had made the decision to keep the club permanently closed. The signature jockey statues were removed in December 2020.

What was New York city like in the 1990s? ›

The city rebounded in the mid- and late 1990s due to the steady expansion of the national economy and the Wall Street stock market boom that took place concomitantly, as well as the precipitous drop in crime, although stubbornly high unemployment remained a local problem.

What were the nightclubs in NYC in the 80s? ›

  • AREA (1983–1987) AREA Nightclub, BAM, Honoring Pina Bausch, with Robert Wilson, Bianca Jagger, Card, June 20, 1984. ...
  • Limelight (1983–1998) Limelight, Jayne County Performance, Card, 1992. ...
  • Palladium (1985–1997) Publication Party for Michael Musto's Downtown, Invitation Card, Palladium, 1986. ...
  • Tunnel (1986–2001)
Jan 26, 2023

What was cool in the late 90s? ›

Aside from boy bands, one-shoulder overalls, and obscure hairdos, the '90s are characterized, in large, by eclecticism and multiculturalism. With movements in grunge, hip-hop and rave music, as well as the rise of technology (Cable! Internet!), revolutionary niche groups formed.

What was the name of the famous club in Harlem? ›

Cotton Club, legendary nightspot in the Harlem district of New York City that for years featured prominent Black entertainers who performed for white audiences. The club served as the springboard to fame for Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, and many others.

What was the kids club in the 1980s? ›

Club Kids burst onto New York and London's night-life circuit in the late 1980's, creating a hedonistic community for the gay, transgender and disenfranchised to be authentically celebrated.

What is the history of Limelight in Theatre? ›

It was first employed in a theatre in 1837 and was in wide use by the 1860s. Its intensity made it useful for spotlighting and for the realistic simulation of effects such as sunlight and moonlight.

What was the old name of the Academy nightclub? ›

Overview. 6021 Hollywood Blvd. Located on Hollywood Blvd, Academy LA is a seasoned Los Angeles venue with a massive warehouse-sized main room, plus a loft, front room, and outdoor patio. Formerly the Vanguard, then Create Nightclub, Insomniac's history with this legendary space extends back decades.

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