A legendary New York nightclub, Studio 54 was infamous for its sexual licentiousness (nudity on the dance floor, topless busboys, a unique gay/straight clientele mix) and an eclectic/elitist door policy that integrated the beautiful, the eccentric, and a vast array of celebrities (the Jaggers, Andy Warhol, Liza Minelli, Michael Jackson, etc.). Studio 54 was opened in April 1977 by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager; early in 1980, they were both sent to prison for tax evasion. The nightclub ownership then changed hands twice before it finally closed in March 1986. Immortalized, in a fictional form, in the films 54 (1998) and The Last Days of Disco (1998), Studio 54 has come to symbolize a historical transition point: from the freedom and hedonism of the 1970s into the yuppie elitism and self-destructiveness of the 1980s.

Further Reading:

Haden-Guest, Anthony. The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night. New York, William Morrow, 1998.