Join us for a tour filled with Village Pride!

This image is part of Jillian Jonas's collection on Village Preservation's Historic Image Archive, to explore more images like this click here. In 1979, this venue became the Pyramid Club, established by Bobby Bradley, Alan Mace, and Victor Sapienza. And it is the sole surviving music club from the avant-garde era of the 1980s, and it defines the East Village scene during that decade. Performers Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, Jean-Michel Basquiat, RuPaul, and Ann Magnuson emerged from this club and from Club 57 at 57 St. Mark’s Place. Since its opening, the Pyramid Club has also been credited with defining the East Village drag and gay scenes of the 1980s and is known for its politically conscious drag performance art and as a hangout for the counterculture of the neighborhood. The Pyramid Club hosted drag performers such as Lypsinka, Lady Bunny, and RuPaul. It was here that the annual Wigstock festival began in 1984 when a group of the club’s drag queens performed a spontaneous drag show at Tompkins Square Park. In addition to performance art, cabaret, and dancing, many up-and-coming bands, such as Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, also performed here. Andy Warhol and Debby Harry did a feature on this club for MTV. Madonna appeared at her first AIDS benefit here, and Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers played their first New York City concerts here. New York Magazine referred to it as “A temple of iniquity for punk rockers, Goth betties, and queers of every feather.”