Saint (nightclub)
| Address | 105 Second Avenue (at 6th Street) New York City, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°43′39″N 73°59′18″W / 40.727509°N 73.98846°WCoordinates: 40°43′39″N 73°59′18″W / 40.727509°N 73.98846°W |
| Owner | Bruce Mailman |
| Type | Superclub |
| Genre(s) | Discothèque |
| Capacity | 3,500–4,000 |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1926 |
| Opened | 1980 |
| Closed | 1988 |
The Saint was an American gay superclub, located in the East Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York; it operated from 1980 to 1988.
It opened in the old premises of the Fillmore East, a 1926-built, former-theater-turned-classic-rock-and-roll venue of the late 1960s and early 1970s, at 105 Second Avenue at 6th Street. The Saint was opened by Bruce Mailman and his business partner and his architectural designer, Charles Terrell.
The original opening date was set for July 30, 1980, but construction delays forced a deferral to September 20, 1980, with Alan Dodd as disc jockey. The nightclub was a success even before it opened. Membership packs with floor plans were distributed and before the club opened 2,500 memberships had been sold at $150 each for the first 700 members and for $250 for the rest, with a waiting list established.
It was financed in large part by Mailman's other gay venture, the nearby New St. Marks Baths – a gay mecca at the time. The nightclub's renovation cost $4.5 million, being $2 million over budget ($12.9 million at 2014 prices). Money was spent repairing the roof, paying six years of back taxes to the city and fitting out the interior. It opened initially as a private membership gay nightclub (returning the idea of a club to "nightclub"), and set the standard for disco presentation, lighting, sound system, hydraulics and technical support.
However, by the end of its second season, AIDS had begun eating through the fabric of gay life in New York City and began to take a heavy and relentless toll on the Saint's membership. Change came quickly. Membership costs were lowered and the season extended into the summer so that the club was open almost all year round. By its seventh season, membership costs had fallen to $50. It also opened weekly for a straight crowd. Furthermore, by 1985, the Black Party performers were for the first time required to perform safe sex. By 1987, the performance emphasised masturbation, phone sex and mud wrestling, all a far cry from the club's early days which, on one celebrated occasion, a boa constrictor was used as a prop.
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