One of my favorite cult movies to watch is Party Monster (2003) starring Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green. The movie is the story of party promoters and Club Kids Michael Alig and James St. James and their journey in New York City as party kids, drug dealers, and eventually, an infamous murderer. Most of the movie takes place at a nightclub called The Limelight.
The Limelight was a very famous nightclub in New York City that was owned by Peter Gaiten and opened in November of 1983. It is located on Avenue of the Americas and West 20th Street and was once the former location of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion. Built in 1844-1845, it has a Gothic Revival style and was designed by Richard Upjohn. The building itself has been used for many reasons including a drug rehabilitation center during the early 1970s.
However, the most notorious use for this building was during the 1980's and 1990's when it became a nightclub. In the 80's, it was mostly used as a disco and rock club and has an impressive list of acts that have performed there. During the 1990's though is the time when The Limelight really became notorious. It became known for its music scene which played techno, goth, and industrial music and even more so for for it's recreational drug use and the dealers that congregated there.
The Limelight gained media attention in 1996 when a young man named Michael Alig created the Club Kids and became a huge party promoter for the club. He was excellent at his job and even traveled the country promoting the nightclub. The Club Kids were known for their flamboyant appearance and costumes that they donned regularly during their run in New York City. However, one night after an argument with his drug dealer, Angel Melendez, Alig beat him to deal with a hammer and then dismembered his body before throwing his remains into the Hudson River. Alig pled guilty to manslaughter in October of 1997 and was sentenced to 10-20 years in prison and was released on parole in May 2014.
The Limelight closed and reopened many times during the 1990's. In September of 2003 it reopened under the name Avalon but closed it's doors to the nightclub scene permanently in 2007. When I visited in June of 2013, it had been transformed into a marketplace that sold various fashion pieces. At the time that this blog was published, it was reported that the building had been turned into a gym.
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