Eldergays, what was the LA-equivalent of Studio 54 back in the day?

Studio One

There was no L.A. equivalent of Studio 54.

What's Studio 54?

r2, I'm not suggesting there was a night club as hip as Studio 54. I'm just asking what club did LA have that came closest to being like Studio 54.

Limelight was sort of the equivalent for flyover land.

Whiskey A-Go-Go?

Not the same, but popular and well known. Plus it's still around.

Studio 54 is now a theater. I saw THE APPLE TREE revival (with the incomparable Kristin Chenoweth) there.

When I moved to LA in '75, Studio One was it. Everyone was line dancing to That's The Way (I Like It) by KC & the Sunshine Band

I moved out of LA in '75, up to the Bay Area, but in high school I was part of the Jesus Freak scene, which was wild good fun, until it got invaded by fundies from the South. We would go to some big old Hollywood Church, and listen to Larry Norman, a pre-Cobain type of thing, rock out and preach about the end of the world, while a month's worth of earthquake aftershocks rocked our world. (Look at Larry Norman's album cover Upon This Rock for Cobain reference.)

In college it was the Merry Pranksters-adjacent scene in the canyons of Orange County, and the surf shacks of Newport Beach, with lots of pot only, and Grateful Dead and homegrown bluegrass. Very pure scene. I was lucky I skipped the coke scene, except for a few times in La Honda.

So, for me, the equivalent was a Christian Rock Church, and private mansions in Trabuco and Silverado Canyons. Anything could happen, including speaking in tongues to hot tub shenanigans.

The West Coast is (was) much more organic and mellow than Studio 54, don't you think?

Obviously the Playboy Mansion.

Florentine Gardens!

Studio One/The Factory (Wikipedia):

[quote]Studio One's building was originally owned by William Fox (film producer) and was used as a Norden bombsight facility during World War I. In 1968 the building was bought and transformed into The Factory nightclub, named after the furniture manufacturing business in the lower floor of the building. The Factory became a popular 1960s-style discothèque that was frequented by Hollywood celebrities, but it only lasted a few years. Studio One was founded on the same site in the early 1970s by part-owner Scott Forbes, a Boston optometrist. The club was popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s. There was a marked decline in popularity after the Los Angeles Times confronted the owner about allegations of racism, sexism, and homophobia. Forbes promised reforms but the problems continued. In the 1990's it was bought by Sandy Sachs and renamed "Axis." The space is currently called "The Robertson."

LaBrea Tar Pits. No NYC equivalent.

Studio One in LA. Can't think of clubs from Chicago back then. I recall the Bistro, La Cage, and Coconuts in the 70's. but then I'm elderly so might be imagining the entire subject.

Griffith Park after midnight

Barney's Beanery.

They luvd teh gayz

Dugan's Bistro in legend pumped amyl nitrate into the ventilation system.

Id rather hear stories about the bar Numbers when it was on Sunset blvd!

Glory-hole Gertie's

R15 I had a bad experience there

The Red Parrot.

Can't remember the name but there was a big disco on La Cienega where they filmed Thank God It's Friday (at least the exterior shots) that was popular in the late 70s.

But really, Studio 54 had no equal, anywhere.

I moved from NYC to LA in 1977. The scenes were completely different. There wasn't much of a public club scene in LA. There were a handful of private clubs where celebs hung out but you had to be a member. The public went to dance clubs like the Circus, Studio One, Catch One and Probe. There was no elite dance club where celebs and the public mixed.

There was no equivalent of studio 54 in LA because the ambiance was completely different in the West coast. The Playboy mansion was the it place for fun, drugs, and sex.

Helena's seemed like an 80s LA equivalent.

In LA it was more about private parties than nightclubs. The Playboy mansion and Hollywood used to throw the "it" parties.

Osko's was the name of the club on La Cienega where TGIF was filmed.

The Sunset Strip and Westwood Village was the place to go in the 70s for music, bar-hopping, entertainment and celeb-siting but there was no equivalent for Studio 54.

Hollywood Palladium was popular for small concerts.

Skid Row.

What about the Abbey in West Hollywood?

George Cukor's pool parties.

What about Probe on Highland?

Bea Arthur's pool parties

Dillon's Disco in Westwood.

I love the Oscar-winning "Thank God It's Friday." Fun movie.

Was the Abbey around in the 80s?

Was the A B B E Y around in the 80s?

R30 I liked the Abbey in the 90s when it was just a coffehouse with all these large rooms and areas to chill in the back.

I had a lot of fun at the Probe R32. They used to have live acts. One night I saw Freda Payne do Band of Gold.

I lived in Connecticut and was a few years too young to go there, but Studio 54 was known to everybody, as was the Playboy Mansion. They were both unique. I haven't heard any place else written here that was comparable, from a publicity standpoint, that were nationally notorious.

It was NOT Studio One, which was so exclusively gay, they tried to keep women out. You couldn't get in if you were wearing open-toed shoes, which were popular then with women. Studio 54 was open to both sexes. It wasn't exclusively, or even predominantly, gay.

One was The Daisy

Here ya go:

[quote]I had a lot of fun at the Probe [R32]. They used to have live acts. One night I saw Freda Payne do Band of Gold.

That's funny. I remember having dinner outside near Studio One (or did they have a restaurant?) and Freda Payne was sitting at the next table. I had no idea who she was, but a friend did.

The Daisy's membership fee in 1965 was $250.

That would be almost $2,000 in today's dollars.

Wrong park, R20. That was Will Rogers Memorial Park, across the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Wasn't the Troubadour pretty well known?

Troubadour wasn't a danceclub. . It was where you went to hear live music.

You were more likely to hear Carole King than Disco.

I saw Randy Newman, Linda Ronstadt, Loggins & Mesina, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt at the Troubadour in the '70's. It must have been fairly cheap because it was a very popular date. Link below.

LA was a much more mellow scene than NY in those days, and proudly so: more into LSD and pot than coke and booze. I was also part of the Jesus Freak scene which took over some Hollywood church for some crazy speaking in tongues and holy rolling kind of activities. It wasn't dissimilar to my image of Studio 54, better writhing, but poorer outfits (torn jeans), and grooming (long Jesus hair for boys & girls).

But, yes on The Daisy! Again, a mellower, groovier scene in L.A.

Studio one but it was not the same...

Catch One.

Harlan Ellison wrote a (very corny) article on The Daisy, which seems to be the prime candidate. "Bring your switchblade and your smile" was his lede.

In the 90s the Roxbury VIP room was the place to be.

Oddessy One was the Studio 54 of the West Coast, hands down.