Tunnel (New York nightclub)

Tunnel was a large New York City nightclub with multiple rooms on several levels. Opened in early 1987, the club was named for the abandoned train tunnel from the early 1900s that became the main dance floor. It was located at 220 West 27th Street (and 12th Avenue)Fact|date=March 2008 [Correct address - 269 11th Ave (bet'w 27th & 28th Sts)] Fact|date=March 2008 in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.

It was one of the most distinctive dance clubs of its time, untraditionally rectangular and elongated. The dance floor was dotted with several dance cages throughout the floor, and had a notoriouslyFact|date=February 2007 loud sound system. One clever Tunnel bartender recommended improvised earplugs, made out of molten candle wax dripped into a glass of tap water. The decor throughout the club was ever-changing; one room was decorated by artist Kenny Scharf, called the Kenny Scharf Lava Lounge, others were decorated as Victorian libraries, S & M dungeons, and chill-out lounges. It was perhaps best knownFact|date=February 2007 for hosting Junior Vasquez, Danny Tenaglia, Merritt and Eddie Baez after the close of the original Sound Factory (530 W. 27th St.) in the mid-1990s. It later hosted Kurfew, a trance-techno oriented Saturday night party. While Tunnel frequently played to gay audiencesFact|date=February 2007 (Vasquez spun for primarily gay parties, Tenaglia who is gay rarely branded his parties with a sexual preference, Kurfew was gay), it also attracted members of the hip-hop community. One distinct advantage of the multiple rooms of the club was the ability to host different types of parties with as many as five or more different DJs spinning various styles of music to varying crowds.

The Tunnel also featured unisex bathrooms (although the stalls did have partitions). It was said that the bathrooms were the partially-converted locker rooms of the train workers from decades prior.

The Tunnel was often packed beyond its legal capacity, which resulted in dangerous overcrowding. This led to people literally pushing their way past each other to get to the bathrooms and bars. During large shows, it was not uncommon for someone standing on the main floor to be packed tightly against the crowd around him; sometimes being lifted completely off the floor. Because it lacked an air conditioning system, it was often incredibly hot and humid.

A notable concert hosted at The Tunnel was Cirrus, BeatMistress and the Thrill Kill Kult (as part of their "Inferno X-press Tour") on Sunday, July 24th, 1993.

One of the nightclub's past bouncers was Vin Diesel.

Tunnel closed its doors soon after the demise of nearby Twilo, victim of owner Peter Gatien's debts and Rudy Giuliani's quality-of-life campaign. Gatien has been connected to drug trafficking and fire code violations, and sometimes underage drinking violations. His clubs were frequently the targets of police raids.

The Tunnel was mentioned in the Sex and the City episode "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda" [" [http://www.hbo.com/city/episode/season4/episode59.shtml Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda] ". Sex and the City, season four.] In the scene where Miranda discusses her abortion with her, Carrie mentions a termination she had herself, 13 years earlier. She reveals that her unwanted pregnancy resulted from sleeping with a waiter "after a drunken night at The Tunnel." Miranda retorts, "The Tunnel?! No judgment!". Later in the Season 6 episode "Splat!", Lexi recalls, "Remember when we used to go to Tunnel? We were like five!"

It is also discussed in the book American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. [Bret Easton Ellis, "American Psycho," (New York: Vintage Books, 1991).] , and is credited as a location for the Nicholas Cage movie Vampire's Kiss as well as several episodes of the CBS television show "The Equalizer" with Edward Woodward. It was also the setting for the rave scene in the Larry Clark movie "Kids".

Most recently it was mentioned in the television show "Gossip Girl". ["Gossip Girl"(The Handmaiden's Tale, episode 6, aired October 24 2007).] Nate tells Serena he's found cocaine that belongs to his father, and Serena suggests that it could be something "old, leftover from the 90s, from some night at Limelight or The Tunnel."

DJ Jeff Karp and DJ Steve Sidewalk were Saturday night residents at Kurfew. The popular Saturday night party held at Tunnel each week was hosted by young promoters such as Druscilla and Jared (Superglow list)

ee also

*The Limelight
*Webster Hall
*Twilo (formerly The Sound Factory; closed in 2001)
*Roxy NYC
*NASA at The Shelter (at Club Vinyl at 6 Hubert Street in Tribeca; 1991-1993)
*Paradise Garage

References

* The New York Times, November 11, 1988 "Plush Discos Offer Rock, Rap and Romanticism"