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Disco Music > Discotheques and Clubs Index > GG's Barnum Room
GG's Barnum Room
128 West 45th Street, New York, NY
Barnums was an actual circus! There was a trapeze artist swinging through the air. The drag queens knew how to party! I used to laugh so much and have such a good time !I dont remember much, but thanks for the relive.
Photo of grand opening invite for GG's Barnum Room submitted by Phil LeBash.
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COMMENTS ON THIS DISCO / DISCOTHEQUE / NIGHTCLUB
this club was a little blast from the past. was it an old hotel lobby at one time. the bar and dance floor were made of marble, up above was a net, pole, & 2 or 3 swings. drag queens actually did the act or show. the music & lights were good, however i don't remember this club ever being the place to be. if anything this was a place to get away and do your own thing. "g.g. barnum room" good call on this club soul70'z
Thanks, exdj....I think i have CRS (can't remember s***) I am so glad you remembered!! It was so much fun, the straight guys that were there were so confused, the queens were so much fun, and it was definately do your own thing. But just like the clubs today, i never go wanting to meet anybody, just to dance and laugh my head off!!!
Aha! My dear Soul70'Z strikes again. In what used to be the Restaurant and Lounge in the Hotel Carter on 48th Street, right across from the New York Times building, was this Circus!! The first time I went in there, I went in with a bi-guy who loved coke and transvestites. I just couldn't believe it. What a scene. I sincerely thought they'd chew me up and spit me out; and I am not one to be easily intimidated. I ended up not only having quite a party that evening, but securing a suite at the very top floor of the venerable Hotel Carter itself that evening (I took my life in my hands) because I'd imbibed a little bit too much. That morning, I discovered a number of people of various gender-identities in the four rooms that adjoined one another, including a "straight" young man who was so accommodating as to ask for a few bucks to buy breakfast. I gave him $50, not expecting to ever see it again. No more than 20 minutes later, he not only brought back a nice continental breakfast, but also brought back cheap champagne and orange juice, and we all waited for the "girls" to put on their makeup whilst the young man put two tables and some chairs on the tiny balcony outside, and we ate a champagne breakfast, modest as it was, outside, about 25 floors up. It was about 1984. I seem to recall that we had lunch on me at a Chinese restaurant and I took them all out to the Red Parrot that night -- they were a delightful bunch of New York's denizens of the night!
And dont forget the nitros tanks in the rest rooms!
Do not recall HNO2 tanks in bathrooms. Perhaps they were hidden away 'cause I just wasn't hip enough. If anyone knows what became of the faded glory of the Carter Hotel, why not post it here, as well. It was a famous haunt for after-club partying for folks from haunts ranging from Barnum Room all the way to chic 54 clientele!
The Carter Hotel is apparently still in operation as a 'budget' hotel- -
http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7188133/?cslink=cs_boc_lw_2_10
GiGi's Barnum Room,I remember it well. Flying trapeez,Giant Mirror Ball, DJ Willy. It was a cools spot, Pretty decent sound system too. I was in my late teens? early 20's. A friend and I were looking for a club to try and didn't have a clue, and two girls on the street said "Go to Gi Gi's !!!
My buddy kissed a transvestite on the way out, proclaiming, " Your'e a pretty Mutha F - - r" Those were the days. Peace everyone !
Barnums' was the place. What ever happened to DJ Willie. I played upstairs after he did.
DJ Rene Hewitt
I was like a furniture fixture there on the weekends! A DJ friend of mine from LI suggested I try this club and lo and behold it became my favorite weekend disco for a good year or two! A few of us would get together and drive in from Queens (when parking wasn't as nuts as it is now!) and pretty much party there until they closed. I remember dancing downstairs in two different areas with two different DJS, as well as upstairs. I took my FATHER there one time and he absolutely loved it!!
I remember the Barnum Room Well. One of my memories was the fashion show. I must have been 19 years old and it was my first time at the club. The fashion show started and I turned to my best friend Nicky Marinelli and said the girls looked beautiful. A guy next to me said, Honey they are not females but men. My god they looked better then some women I know. That was my first time there. I have to say the music and the atmosphere was great, and I went back many times. You had to be open minded to go to the Barnum Room, It was not a place that celebrities went, so most anyone got in. That is some of my memories of the club. Does anyone else remember the transvestite fashion Show?
That Barnum room was something else. In order for someone to play there, you had to compete in the small bar next door. The audience would clap and the rest was yours. Yea, DJ Willie was playing there before me and then I stayed for a very long time.
I also remember the barnum room well... We couldnt get into 54 or xenon's and settled for this spot... It was a crazy scene. We were blasted and could not believe our eyes... A circus act (trapeze) in the middle of a club. I remember hangin out there and watching these amazons walking around... And to our dismay soon found out they were Transformers!!!! (former men!!!) After few rum cokes, it took a few reach arounds and some noticely large adam apples to discover these were not the grand damsels in distress that we were looking for. Needles to say why the drinks were flowing... Guess we got played that night... All in fun though cause we went back a few times. Music and atmosphere was great neverthe less.... NYC nightlife at its finest!
Does anyone recall who designed the original sound system for Gi-Gi's ? I'm pretty sure it wasn't the late Richard Long of richard Long and Associates NY. could it have been Louis Feldman who has also since passed away,not too long after Richard ? Rene Hewitt do you have any clue? regards, Woodstock...
Hi and know I don't know who designed it. Maybe Alex Rosner did it since he was very popular during that time. But, I don't think Richard Long designed it.
Thanks Rene, Are you still playing ? My buddy Gary Stewart Of Gary Stewart Audio NY has been busy installing systems overseas as of late! If you go to his webite gasny.com you can see some of his latest projects, one of which is zouk club . My friend Chuck here in jersey constructs most of his audio consoles. Stay in touch Rene. daryl.williams@us.pwc.com peace, Woodstock
rene that webite should have read : darryl.williams@us.pwc.com
My funnest memory of the Barnum Room ... I was about 16 or so, I was always big & looked older then I was. I meet two "girl" & I thought I was going to have a orgy with them. To make a long story short, that night I found out what a drag queen was. Most of the time I was at Infinity.
This place was The Peppermint Lounge before it was GG's,right? I went there one night in the 70's to check out what was going on since the Peppermint Lounge closed down. All transvestites there. Freaky place. Anyone ever go the the bar down the street called "club 45 or 45 Club" or something like that in the late 60's and early 70's. I think the movie " Midnight Cowboy" shot a couple of scenes in that joint.
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