Studio 54: A Story Of Decadence, Debauchery, And Dancing

By | June 13, 2019

Dancers grooved wherever they wanted in Studio 54

Studio 54 has gone down in history as the ultimate nightclub, a place where everyone who was anyone went to get down, boogie, and be seen. For 33 short months the club was the height of cool in Manhattan, with club goers who managed to get past the velvet rope falling into a deluge of drugs and debauchery.

Even after the original owners went to prison for skimming millions of dollars, the club stayed open until 1990, although the magic of the first years never returned. These photos show what really happened at Studio 54, with celebrities like Mick Jagger, Grace Jones, and Andy Warhol leading the way. Groove on! 

test article image
source: pinterest

Aside from the dancing and debauchery, one thing that everyone remembers about Studio 54 is the club’s interior design. The moon with a coke spoon hanging over the dance floor along with a giant sign announcing that dancers were, yes, in Studio 54 hooked to rigging material and hung from the ceiling so dancers could grind the night away on top of the designs if thy so felt like it.

Ian Schrager, one of the co-owners and founders of Studio 54 explained his idea behind the design:

We were trying to generate a combustible energy, explosive — a mayhem for people to have fun.

Explosive mayhem is the perfect way to describe this scintillating night club. 

Regular people could escape at Studio 54

test article image
source: pinterest

Going to work day in and day out all week can grind a person down. All of that pent up stress can make someone blow a valve, Studio 54 served as a way for people to escape; it was the perfect place for someone to cut loose as long as they could get through the door.

Studio 54 had an intense door rule that made it hard for people to get in regardless of who you were. Andy Warhol once said "It's a dictatorship at the door and a democracy on the dance floor." Once inside people were allowed to be whoever they wanted to be, cutting loose and grooving with everyone, it was the place to go when someone needed to escape.