December 17, 2007
Disco is Dead, But Saturday Night Fever is Stayin' Alive
Two years ago the famed Saturday Night Fever dance floor was sold at auction for $188,000 when the Brooklyn club where the movie was filmed, Odyssey 2001 (later called Spectrum), was closed. Just yesterday the legendary movie turned 30 and amNewYork got nostalgic looking back at the Bay Ridge kid, Tony Manero, who sought refuge on that dance floor.
Thirty years ago this weekend, a tough young kid from Bay Ridge strutted across America's movie screens and struck his finger in the air to announce a new moment in the country's culture. Disco had been bubbling in the underground for a few years before the film came out, opening the sub-culture to a mass audience.The movie didn't all take root from "the scene" though, it started with "a mostly fictional" NY Mag piece written by Nik Cohn in 1976. If you want to travel back in time we suggest reading the original article, putting on some flares, popping some Bee-Gees on the iPod and heading over to some of the film's locations to relive the glory (albeit short-lived) days of disco. (Don't forget to strut.) Aside from the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, you can check out the spot that once held the Odyssey 2001 club, which was located at 802 64th Street in Brooklyn. And the backdrop for Tony's place of employment (a hardware store, since closed down) was located at 7309 5th Ave in Brooklyn. Can you dig it?Alex Marchak, 50, who as a teenager hung out at the 2001 Odyssey dance club featured in the movie and was an extra in the film, recalled the era: "You made sure you were dressed up, you cared about the way you carried yourself. You don't have that any more. We took pride in the way we presented ourselves, the whole aura of the way we were."
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Jen Carlson ,master fact checker. I mean seriously this site is just a volunteer site, right? I mean you can't actually get paid... because if you did you'd FACT check that the hardware store is still in business not closed down.
Bay Ridge Home Center Inc.
7305 - 5th Avenue
718-238-0096
Actually, the store was called Six Brothers Hardware and Paints -- and it did indeed close. A new shop that wasn't in the movie, however, opened up.
Also, that store is at a different address.
Bornbrednewyorker = SERIOUSLY PWNED!!!!
Bornbrednewyorker = SERIOUSLY PWNED!!!!
Jeez, I'm so happy I ignored disco...
www.forgotten-ny.com
JC's a pro, with nary a hint of sarcasm in her retort...
Wrong Jen. I posted the right address. Doesn't matter if the stores name changed since the movie. It's still in the exact same building, it never closed down, just bought from the Albergo family sometime in the 80's. I am from Bay Ridge... and you are from where in the midwest?