Stork Club was a nightclub in Manhattan, New York City. During its existence from 1929 to 1965, it became one of the most prestigious clubs in the world. A symbol of café society, the wealthy elite, including movie stars, celebrities, showgirls, and aristocrats all mixed in the VIP Cub Room. The club was established on West 58th Street in 1929 by Sherman Billingsley, a former bootlegger from Enid, Oklahoma. After an incident when Billingsley was kidnapped and held for ransom by Mad Dog Coll, a rival of his mobster partners, he became the sole owner of the Stork Club. It remained at its original location until it was raided by Prohibition agents in 1931 after which it moved to East 51st Street. From 1934 until its closure in 1965, it was located at 3 East 53rd Street, just east of Fifth Avenue, when it became world-renowned with its celebrity clientele and luxury. Billingsley was known for his lavish gifts, which brought a steady stream of celebrities to the club and also ensured that those interested in the famous would have a reason to visit.
Owner Sherman Billingsley at the Stork Club in 1951
Image: Stork Club logo
Illustration of the club's dining room on East 51st Street in 1933
Membership card, 1932–1933
A nightclub is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discothèque with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who mixes recorded music. Nightclubs tend to be smaller than live music venues like theatres and stadiums, with few or no seats for customers.
Two DJs perform at the nightclub Space on the island of Ibiza in 2015
"The Cave" in the basement of the Gruenwald (later Roosevelt) Hotel, New Orleans opened in 1912; said by some to be one of the first nightclubs in the United States[by whom?]
The "Kakadu" (1919–1937), a Pre-World War II nightclub in Berlin, offered a bar, a dance floor, live music played by jazz band, and cabaret.
A disc jockey (DJ) mixing vinyl records on turntables (Inland Empire, 2009)