 Latin Quarter logo from the 1960s | |
 Interactive map of The LQ | |
| Full name | Latin Quarter |
|---|---|
| Address | 511 Lexington Ave |
| Location | Manhattan,New York City |
| Coordinates | 40°45′18″N73°58′24″W / 40.755092°N 73.973206°W /40.755092; -73.973206 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1942 |
| Reopened | 2003 |
| Website | |
| www | |
Latin Quarter (also known later on asThe LQ) was a nightclub inNew York City.[1][2] The club originally opened in 1942 and featured big-name acts. In recent years, it had been a focus ofhip hop,reggaeton andsalsa music. Its history is similar to that of its competitor, theCopacabana.
The club's original location near Times Square was at 200 West48th Street on a trapezoidal lot betweenBroadway and Seventh Avenue. It opened as the Palais Royale in 1900, andNorman Bel Geddes had designed the interior.[3][4] It was then occupied by theCotton Club, which had leftHarlem, from 1936 to 1940.[5]
Concert promoterLou Walters bought the Cotton Club and reopened it in 1942 as the Latin Quarter, with a French New Orleans theme.[6] He was the father of television journalist, host and producerBarbara Walters.
During Walters's tenure, the club featured big-name acts such asFrank Sinatra,Ella Fitzgerald,Patti Page,the Carter Family,Sophie Tucker,Mae West,Diahann Carroll,Milton Berle,The Andrews Sisters,Frankie Laine,Sunny Skylar, andTed Lewis, along withchorus girls and acan can dance to conclude.[citation needed]
Walters left the business in the 1950s.Earl Wilson described the club under its new management in 1964 as "more expensive" than the Copacabana "but then the show's a bit bigger, nakeder and longer."[4]
In 1969, during a strike by the chorus girls, the club was padlocked for not paying rent.
From 1969 to 1978, the upstairs room was a 575-seat Cine Lido that initially started showing upscale softpornography. It opened with the filmCamille 2000 (1969). On July 25, 1973, Cine Lido, along with 10 other New York "art houses", was raided, and a copy ofThe Newcomers was confiscated. Cine Lido closed in May 1978 and was replaced by the 22 Steps disco,[7] which was named for the number of steps to the theatre.[8]
In 1979, the space reopened as a Broadway theatre called 22 Steps with performances ofCoquelico,[6]My Old Friends,[9]The Madwoman of Central Park West,[10] andDogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth.
From 1980 to 1984, it was named the Princess Theatre and had performances ofCensored Scenes from King Kong,[11]Fearless Frank,[12]The Beautiful Mariposa,[13]Sort of an Adventure,[13]Louie and the Elephant,[14]This Was Burlesque,[15]Pump Boys and Dinettes andThe Babe.
From 1984 to 1985, the theatre was renamed Latin Quarter and had performances ofAndré DeShield'sHarlem Nocturne[16] andMayor.
After 1985, the space returned to nightclub use and focused onhip hop music.Boogie Down Productions referenced the club in their 1987 song "Super Ho".Ice-T also referenced the club in his songs6 in the Mornin' (1987) and "Heartbeat" (1988). Also, Slick Rick made referenced to the club in his song "The Moment I feared" (1988) from the albumThe Great Adventures of Slick Rick.Public Enemy also references 'the LQ' in their 1988 song "Don't Believe the Hype". In 1987, three patrons were shot as they left the club after a performance byRoxanne Shante.[17]
Later, the club was renamed the Penguin Club and became infamous for stabbings and fights. The building was eventually torn down in 1989 and replaced by a 22-story Ramada Renaissance Hotel. 48th Street between Broadway and Seventh Avenue now bears the honorary name "Lou Walters Way."
In 2003, the producerRalph Mercado (who had foundedRMM Records & Video) opened a new Latin Club at 511 Lexington, at 48th Street, in the Radisson Lexington Hotel on the East Side. Although still known as the Latin Quarter, signage at the club referred to it as "LQ". In December 2004, a fight at the club, during aJa Rule holiday party, spilled onto the street, and one man was fatally shot and another wounded in a dispute that reportedly involved associates ofthe Inc. Records.[18][19]
On November 29, 2008, the formerNew York Giants andPittsburgh Steelers football playerPlaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the right leg while he was standing in an elevator vestibule between the VIP room and the coat check. Burress pleaded guilty to charges and received a two-year prison sentence.[19] Events led to aManhattan Community Board 6 recommendation not to renew the club's liquor license.[20]