No matter what the theme, though, Area’s most salient feature was its radical restroom concept. There was a men’s and a women’s, as usual, but no one enforced proper attendance. These were the “Bright Lights, Big City” years, but there were other strange things going on in the loos. Eric Goode denies that there was a bar in the bathrooms, but acknowledges that it was a club within a club. “They were the first truly coed bathrooms,” he says. “Stephan Lupino set up a studio in there, photographing people with their clothes off. And Chuck Close’s big penis image was exhibited there.”


Clockwise from left: Keith Haring, contributing to an ‘‘Art’’ night; Steven Meisel, left, and Teri Toye; Calvin Klein, left, and Tommy Street.

I suppose it was all too crazy to last. And too interesting and too labor-intensive and too ... well, not profitable enough. Two years came and went. The partners wanted to close. The investors wanted to sell, but sell what? The concept? When Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell later opened Palladium, it was clearly inspired by Area but vast in scale. By the time Hausman returned to California, “it had become more about who was throwing the big party,” he says. “People didn’t care about the themes as much. It was over.”


Clockwisfe from left: David Hockney, Andy Warhol, a friend and Haring; Laurie Anderson and Roy Lichtenstein; George Hamilton, Dianne Brill with members of Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

So, after 25 buildups and tear-downs, Area closed in early 1987 with “Childhood,” a nice symbolic touch suggesting a life lived backward. For years after, I felt a twinge of nostalgia whenever I passed the site, at 157 Hudson Street in TriBeCa. When something like Area comes along, you think, This is a first! But when you think, This is a first, it’s often really a last. Area suggested a brilliant future, where night life and art would merge. And they did, for a moment, with reckless abandon.


Clockwise from top left: a wigged-out Michael Musto, left, and Albert Crudo; Bernard Zette; a ‘‘Science Fiction’’ night.

This was from ‘‘Confinement’’.

Clockwise from left: Tommy Street; a ‘‘Surrealism’’ night; Jennifer Goode.

This is why when people (OK, mostly entertainment lawyers and garbage men from New Jersey) go to some lame place like Caine or Marquee and some hideous valley girl at the door charges them $700.00 (plus tip added on) for the two bottle minimum and then (swiping their credit card at the door) charges them $20.00 each to get in...
Well it makes me nuts!
Are these people's lives really that sad that they will shell out a grand just to possibly be in the same room as Paris & Nicky Hilton?

U know Daddy i think u just hit the nail on the head of what I was thinking... i was just blog venting on my lame ass myspace page about the standard of young women and their aspirations these days... it's all about that Marquee mentality and back in the days (Area days) it was about having to be creative. WHich is so lost these days. I won't ruin this topic with my vent about smth dif. but I just think it's so sad that there isn't this level of intelligent creativity to aspire to.

I think it's just good for kids today to see.
I know "the grass is always greener" etc.
and I'm really not one of those "back-in-the-day" old fogies either. There is a lot that I think is better now (the internet and digital technology for example). It just good to see what any Tuesday or Wednesday night used to be like in New York City.

Read or re-read Marvin Taylor's essay in The Downtown Book "The Downtown Scene and Cultural Production"...for the socio-economic realities behind the art explosion of the 80s.

There's a reason the "Downtown Collection" at NYU spans 1974-1995. When the loft laws died, when the real estate was given carte-blanche, and landlords could charge whatever they want and the economic underpinnings for young (and old) poor artists disappeared.

How could we have come to New York in the 1970s, or 80s, gotten A Room Of Our Own, worked a few hours a week and spent the rest of the time writing, painting, etc ---
without cheap rent?

As poor people we had something to prove.

Rich people have only their couture to 'prove'

Paris (FRANCE) though very expensive still has reasonable laws concerning how much a landlord can charge. Most cities do. So working class people and artists can inhabit the city and enrich it thereby. So much the worse for NYC.

AREA was genius and perfection and fuelled by a staff of creative people who didn't need to be paid a thousand dollars for a night of artistic endeavour. In order to buy groceries and pay rent. You could actually work for free, or a pittance, and get alot more out of it than money.

Well I've written some version of this at least a hundred times on these Boards so I'll shut up now.

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If you're interested, there's an American Fabulous website (www.americanfabulous.com), and it features a photograph of Jeffrey Strouth at Area in his caterpillar costume:

http://www.geocities.com/rendakk/americanfabulous/PAcaterpil.html

Jeffrey lived with me in miami while i was doing pr at the warsaw ballroom - corner of hispanola way and collins. I've got ALOT of stories to tell! He was so manic and crazy but the best ideas ever. I used to work for Brill back in the day. My favorite exhibit with Zette exhibit was when he was in the back, in a small cottage, doing Elizabeth Taylor doing Snow White. On the wall behind him were the pictures of her seven husbands. And BTW "set it off" WAS the song that made the house JUMP!

HOW did I miss this forum? So many memories. My head is spinning. And we know how bad that can be. Daddy/ you are trully genius for the photo archiving and ruling commentary.

And for all those lovers of Zette.

Wow
I haven't been in this forum in a while.
I forgot too how great it was.

Likewise, Daddy. The owl alone begs for comment. I mean, a f@#*king owl! That's real nightlife, hon!

This put a big smile on my face. Im sorry to say Area was before my time. I think it would have been my Mecca. Johnny, who were the creators of Area? I cant remember the story.

They were Shawn Hausman, Darius Azari and brothers, Christopher and Eric Goode.
Eric of course went on to do MK, The Building, (he also designed Club USA) Bowery Bar, Maritime Hotel, Bowery Hotel etc. (I'm probably forgetting some others as well).

They were from California. We met them at The Mudd Club where they started. (where we ALL started!)

First they opened this really GENIUS little club. I can't remember the name. In fact, I don't think it even had a name. It was pre-AREA and only open for a few months as I recall. It was filled with stuffed animals (stuffed animals as in Museum of Natural History not teddy bears) and basically the the seed that grew into AREA.
It may have even been just an afterhours club.
(Afterhours clubs... those were the days)

Anyway, Chris got married and has kids I think.
Darius I think moved back to Cali.
And Shawn is in the movie biz I think (as is his father).

Serge Becker was also involved in Area.
Serge also went on to do hundreds of clubs, Joe's Pub, The Box. Too many to mention.

They are all great guys.

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Angel great?