The Haçienda
The Haçienda logo
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| Address | Whitworth Street West Manchester England |
|---|---|
| Owner |
Factory Records New Order |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 21 May 1982 |
| Closed | 28 June 1997 |
| Demolished | 2002 |
| Architect | Ben Kelly (interior) |
The Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, England, which became famous in the Madchester years of the 1980s and early 1990s. The Haçienda opened in 1982, and despite considerable and persistent financial troubles survived until 1997 – the club was mainly supported by record sales from New Order. The Haçienda is associated with the rise of acid house and rave music.
The former warehouse occupied by the club was at 11-13, Whitworth Street West on the south side of the Rochdale Canal: the frontage was curved and built of red brick. Before it was turned into a club, the Haçienda was a yacht builder's shop and warehouse.
Originally conceived by Rob Gretton, it was largely financed by the record label Factory Records and the band New Order along with label boss Tony Wilson. It was on the corner of Whitworth Street West and Albion Street, close to Castlefield, in the centre of the city. FAC 51 was its official designation in the Factory catalogue. New Order and Tony Wilson were directors of the club.
Designed by Ben Kelly, upon recommendation by Factory graphic designer Peter Saville, upstairs consisted of a stage, dance area, bar, cloakroom, cafeteria area and balcony with a DJ booth. Downstairs was a cocktail bar called The Gay Traitor, which referred to Anthony Blunt, a British art historian who spied for the Soviet Union. The two other bars, The Kim Philby and Hicks, were named after Blunt's fellow spies. From 1995 onwards, the lower cellar areas of the venue were converted to create the 5th Man, a smaller music venue.
The name comes from a slogan of the radical group Situationist International: "The Hacienda Must Be Built", from Formulary for a New Urbanism by Ivan Chtcheglov. A hacienda is a large homestead in a ranch or estate usually in places where Colonial Spanish culture has had architectural influence. Even though the cedilla is not used in Spanish, the spelling "Haçienda" was decided on for the club because the cedilla makes the "çi" resemble "51", the club's catalogue number.
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Wikipedia