Studio Six

Posted by: catngus, 6/26/2009

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just too smooth

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Posted by: luzdelmar1960, 6/4/2009

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The music,atomsphere and the diversity is great!!

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Posted by: rship1, 4/15/2008

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sad news: Brass Rail bar, Studio Six nightclub abruptly close doors




pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/atlantic_…




ATLANTIC CITY - It was once a place to party until after the sun came up. For nearly four decades, residents, tourists and celebrities came to the Brass Rail bar and Studio Six nightclub to enjoy a few drinks or dance the night away. It catered largely to the gay community, but many heterosexuals also took part in the club's entertainment.


But now, the complex on Mount Vernon Avenue is boarded up, as the new owners abruptly closed the doors last week, longtime owner Atlantic City Councilman John Schultz said Monday.




"I made my beginning there," said Schultz, now a prominent businessman with partner Gary Hill. "That's what started me off."




The Brass Rail got its liquor license in 1902, one of the first issued in Atlantic City, Schultz said. Back then, you could buy a beer and a hot dog for a nickel.




Schultz said he bought the place in 1971, after working as executive director for the Flanders retirement hotel on St. James Place. At first, business was slow, and he made $9 on a typical day shift.





Then came the energy crisis of the early 1970s, and President Nixon asked businesses to close early to conserve fuel. Only problem was, there was no key to the front door of the Brass Rail, as the place stayed open all night, Schultz said. At 4 a.m., when all the other clubs closed, cabs lined up at the front door bringing in customers who still wanted to party.


"Once I got the reputation, the money started coming in," Schultz said.




He later renovated the bar and added the Studio Six nightclub, the name being a takeoff on the Studio Five club he also owned, Schultz said.




The South Jersey AIDS Alliance got its start at Studio Six in 1981, as the kick-off fundraising party netted $10,000 in 48 hours, Schultz said. In the 1990s, Studio Six was home to the popular Miss'd America drag-queen pageant, held on the deck the night after the Miss America contest.




Schultz and Hill opened the adjacent Club Tru in 2001, and it attracted a mostly straight crowd.




They sold the complex, which also included the Surfside Hotel, in September 2005 to the Sherwood Management Group. They could not be reached for comment Monday as to why the club closed.




Many casino headliners came to the club after they finished their shows, Hill said. Among those spotted in the club over the years were Cher, Connie Francis, Neil Sedaka, Matt Damon, Bruce Willis, Donna Summers and Vanessa Williams - whom he carded to make sure she was older than 21.




The place also played host to many charity fundraisers for local organizations, Hill said.




The closure leaves southern New Jersey's gay community without a club of its own, Hill said.




"To me, it's kind of sad, but obviously, it's a business decision," Hill said.

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