NYC’s former nightclub, Limelight, will be converted into a 320-seat theater, first reported Forbes. The venture comes from Broadway producer Hunter Arnold, director Michael Arden and film distributor Roadside Attractions. New York-born design practice, Marvel Architects, will supervise the project.
According to the blueprints outlined by Forbes, the theater will take over two levels for audience members and have a circular stage. Performers will have their dressing rooms on the building’s third floor. The 21,000-square foot space on Sixth Avenue would even have enough room for four bars.
Why did Arnold, Arden and Roadside specifically choose the former Limelight for a new theater? “We believe that this is the most beautiful building in Manhattan, and what we would like to do is create a very kind of cultural institution … where we can present high-quality entertainment,” explained the marketing director at Arnold’s production company, Scott Moore.
The theater will bring life back into the venue that was once a cultural hub for nightlife in NYC. Limelight opened as a nightclub in 1983. But by 1995 it had been raided and even padlocked as part of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s “Quality of Life” campaign. However, the dancing didn’t stop there. Limelight reopened until it finally closed down for good in 2007.
But before it was even a nightclub, the building was actually a church first constructed in 1844. It was known as the Church of the Holy Communion. It’s third life as a theater will hopefully bring a resurgence of traffic through the historical doors.
As of now, there is no timeline for the project.