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Old 08-23-2009, 04:47 PM
 
2 posts, read 28,754 times
Reputation: 14

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Hey everybody,
I'm working on a novel, and I need to know the name of any disco club that was located in Chicago, in the 1970's....specifically, in 1974

All I need is the name of the club, but if you have firsthand knowledge of it, I'd love to know any other details, the location, names of owners, looks of the club interioir or exterior, if they had any particular 'theme' as far as decor etc etc.

Thanks!

dws
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Old 08-23-2009, 08:02 PM
 
60 posts, read 161,904 times
Reputation: 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by DwsinTxs View Post
Hey everybody,
I'm working on a novel, and I need to know the name of any disco club that was located in Chicago, in the 1970's....specifically, in 1974

All I need is the name of the club, but if you have firsthand knowledge of it, I'd love to know any other details, the location, names of owners, looks of the club interioir or exterior, if they had any particular 'theme' as far as decor etc etc.

Thanks!

dws
Faces, on Rush street comes to mind. Not sure when it was opened. Mid-70s maybe? Google it and see if that works.
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Old 08-23-2009, 08:44 PM
 
968 posts, read 2,649,423 times
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Zorines ...wasn't that where Lawrence Tero ( aka "Mr. T" ) was the bouncer ?? Another Google adventure
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Old 08-23-2009, 11:41 PM
 
53 posts, read 141,347 times
Reputation: 36
I remember one on Lincoln Ave. it had a sign that read: No Hats
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Old 08-24-2009, 09:50 PM
 
Location: Chicago (Garfield Ridge)
152 posts, read 492,646 times
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I grew up and "came of age" in the disco '70s in Chicago. The disco thing was very much in its infancy in 1974 - the year I graduated high school. In the fall of 1975, I turned 19 - which was the legal drinking age (at the time) for beer and wine. Probably the best disco in the city of Chicago was Dugan's Bistro. It was located in the River North area at 420 N. Dearborn. The Bistro, though primarily gay, attracted all of the city's party people and could probably best be described as Chicago's Studio 54 (even though The Bistro opened in 1973 and 54 opened in 1977). It had lights, fog, police mars lights, a killer sound system and the best and newest dance music that no one else had heard before. There's a great website called discomusic.com that has tons of info on 70s-era clubs. Here's the section on The Bistro:
Dugan's Bistro (a.k.a. Bistro Chicago) : Disco Clubs at DiscoMusic.com
Anyway, it was fun to go down memory lane - hope this helps you. Good luck on your novel! Best, ChicagoDan
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Old 08-24-2009, 10:35 PM
 
8,438 posts, read 12,113,860 times
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Dingbats is where Mr. T worked. There was also the Burning Spear, Mr. Rickey's, The Copper Box 2 and Nimbus in Dolton.
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Old 08-24-2009, 11:10 PM
 
Location: Chicago
15,585 posts, read 27,421,704 times
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^Man those all (except Dingbats) sound like gay or at least gay friendly bars or clubs. Were they? I would assume that they were since those are the kind of clubs and bars that broke disco.^
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Old 08-24-2009, 11:36 PM
 
Location: Chicago (Garfield Ridge)
152 posts, read 492,646 times
Reputation: 113
No question about it. The earliest - and best - discos in the seventies were gay. Funny you say that Avengerfire... out of all the bars that Manigault mentions, the only one that actually was gay (for a short time) was Dingbats, 247 E. Ontario.
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Old 08-24-2009, 11:51 PM
 
Location: Chicago
15,585 posts, read 27,421,704 times
Reputation: 1761
Did Mr.T work there when it was gay?
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Old 08-25-2009, 12:01 AM
 
Location: Chicago (Garfield Ridge)
152 posts, read 492,646 times
Reputation: 113
(This from discomusic.com)

DingBats
247 East Onterio St., Chicago, IL

Owner Ron Briskman
DJ Jon Ford

Bouncer Mr T. Dingbats was the largest black disco in Chicago, home to the Chicago bears/bulls. Current location is a Irish pub, the exsisting club still has memormbila in the basement. 4 AM lic and was featured on 60 min and had a kiddy disco on sundays. We were served by many traveling DJ and swaped Dj's with Faces and the phoenex on Broadway, even had studio 54 Dj's play, great booth behind glass with all the equipment in back mounted on mirrors. The club started in 1976 as a primerly white club, then Gay, then latino and them we advertised on wvon and hired 2 dancers robin and reggie to teach and we took off shurting down the doors many times at 1:00am. later hiring Mr T. befor he was Mr T. In memory of my friend Lou Divito, and the dogs of war guys. Jon Ford
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