| information: | — owner - Jimmy Merry (who also owned the Barefoot Boy, the Ice Palace on Fire Island, Ice Palace 57, The Country Cousin, The Lib [formerly Stage 45] and the bars/restaurants Cowboys & Cowgirls on E.53rd St, New Jimmys on 3rd Ave & 88th-89th St and Harrys Back East on 3rd Ave)
— Jimmy had a genuine concern for all his personel, from managers down to busboys
— the Red Parrot was the size of a warehouse and spanned an entire block, between 57th and 58th streets)
— this huge club could have some 3200 guests and the dancefloor some 1000 dancers
— the club opened New Years Eve in 1980 and its first three New Years Eves featured Cab Calloway and his Orchestra
— in the beginning the mix of people was 60% wealthy, hip straights and 40% gay. ALL of the employees were gay and in the mid 80s the club mix became more gay
— the façade, as well as the foyer, were all imported Italian slate, which had to be regularly treated with boiled linseed oil to keep the tiles glossy and non-porous
— in the foyer there was a 10-foot high neon parrot and you needed to pass through a chromed wire-fence hallway to enter the dancefloor
— the DJ booth was huge and could accommodate 2 DJs, 2 lightning guys, 1 laser-light operator, 2 sound engineers and 4 guests at the same time
— in the front, close to the dancefloor, was the main bar with 6 bartenters. There was another bar with four bartenders in the back, and then further back, down a small flight of steps, the VIP area, with its own bar
— the club was designed by Sam Lopata with walls in a frosty-reflective silver metal surface, glossy black vinyl couches, black carpenting, cocktail tables of metal grating and staircases with colored lighting from underneath
— the bathrooms were all done in millions of 1" round black glossy tiles, with black grout, from floor and walls to ceiling
— there were also two triangular glass cages which held a pair of full-grown Macaw parrots each. Each cage was air-conditioned and sound-insulated so the birds didnt hear the sound and people tapping on the glass
— there was a big rotating stage as well as a small special see-through glass floor stage which could be raised and lowers from the ceiling
— there were also three "go-go" cages that could be raised and lowered, like elevators, right onto the dance floor
— people like Madonna, Smokey Robinson, Nancy Wilson, George Clinton, Parliament, Funkadelic, Curtis Hairston and many others performed at the Red Parrot
— prior to Red Parrot the location was the High Rollers roller Disco rink
— the Club was sold in 1988 to John Juliano and was turned into the club Emerald City.
— the building was demolished in 2004 to give rooms for a skyscrape. |
