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 Exterior signs of the Clermont | |
 Interactive map of Clermont Lounge | |
| Address | 789 Ponce de Leon Ave NE |
|---|---|
| Location | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Owner | Tracey Brown Kathi Martin |
| Type | Strip club / dive bar |
| Seating type | Lounge seating |
| Opened | 1965 |
| Website | |
| clermontlounge.net | |
TheClermont Lounge isAtlanta's first and longest continually operatingstrip club, opened in 1965, and boasts a completely female ownership. Located in the basement of the Clermont Motor Hotel at 789 Ponce De Leon Avenue, in thePoncey–Highland neighborhood, thedive bar[1][2] has survived multiple attempts at being closed by the Atlanta city government, and has established a nationwide reputation for itskitschy atmosphere and unusual dancers.[3]
Celebrities known to have visited the Clermont when in Atlanta includeAnthony Bourdain,Colin Firth,Marilyn Manson,Cole Sprouse,Ashton Kutcher,Kid Rock,Steven Yeun,Skinny Lister,Lady Gaga,Eric Roberts, andMing Chen, as well asDavid Cross, Leanne Morgan, andBombay Bicycle Club. Visitors to the Clermont usually alternate between a few handfuls of regulars and large numbers of college students, newcomers to town, and tourists.
The Clermont does not serve food or draft beer, nor does it accept credit cards. The single dancer's stage is located in the middle of a circular bar, and the dancers choose (and pay for) their own songs on the in-housejukebox, as the club normally does not have an actualDJ.
The Clermont Motor Hotel was built in 1924 and was originally an apartment building after its construction, but was later renovated to a hotel format. An early advertisement for a nightclub in the basement space is dated 1955 as an upscale supperclub. Later tenants included the "Gypsy Club" (c. 1951–1954), and "The Continental Room" (1954) before returning to the Anchorage name from about 1956 until 1963, when it was briefly known as the "AtlantaPlayboy Club", an unofficial attempt to capitalize on the popularity ofHugh Hefner's magazine. A lawsuit closed the Atlanta Playboy Club. Clermont Lounge opened its doors within the Clermont Hotel in 1965 and has remained in place ever since. The entire building was sold to new owners in 2003.
Though sharing a building and half of a name, the Clermont Lounge and the Clermont Hotel above it are completely separate business entities. The lounge remained open even after the motel was closed and the lounge only closed for a brief period during the hotel's renovation. The hotel and the lounge are so separate that you can't access the lounge from anywhere inside the hotel. The Clermont Lounge has its own separate entrance in the back of the building near the hotel's valet parking area.
In December 2009, the health department ordered the hotel to close for numerous health code violations, including dirty linen, old bedding, bed bug stains, mold growing on the walls, black water spilling from faucets, and broken toilet fixtures.[4][5]
Fairway Capital put the property on the market for sale in 2010. Clermont Hotel Partners LLC eventually bought it in January 2013 with the intent to redevelop the property as a boutique hotel.[6] In 2018, the hotel reopened after an extensive renovation that brought the facility up to code while restoring and preserving the iconic details of the Clermont[7] The building was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2021.[8]
Anita Rae Strange, known by her stage name Blondie, has been a dancer at the Clermont lounge since 1979.[9] Blondie was the subject of the 2012 filmAKA Blondie, directed byJon Watts.[10]
Season 2 Episode 7 of the Travel Channel showThe Layover, filmed in Atlanta and first airing in January 2013, featuresAnthony Bourdain andAlton Brown visiting the Clermont Lounge.[11][12]
The Clermont has been featured on an episode ofInsomniac with Dave Attell, airing in February of 2002.
Just a few months before his death of a heroin overdose, shock rockerGG Allin wrote the song "Hotel Clermont (My Whorehouse)", released as the B-side to his 1993 single "Look Into My Eyes and Hate Me", during a period spent living in Room 216 of the adjacent hotel.[13]
Bubba Sparxxx released the track 'Claremont Lounge' in 2006, which uses a different spelling but was likely in reference to the Clermont.[14]
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