The Banner
 
Fillmore East
City: New York, NY
Country:
United States
Date Opened: Mar 8, 1968
Date Closed: Jun 27, 1971
Concert Capacity: 2,639
Address: 105 2nd Avenue in Manhattan's East Village
All Venues: View
Venue Notes

Opened in 1926 as the 'Commodore Theater' until Loews, Inc. took it over, and then it became known as 'Loew's Commodore Theater.' On December 10, 1963, 'Burlesque on Parade' opened the reconverted 'Village Theater.'

Joshua White ran the psychedelic light show as a backdrop for concerts.

On 8/25/67, Jimmy Page played two shows at the Village Theatre (pre-Fillmore East) as a member of The Yardbirds. Also appearing on the bill that night were The Youngbloods and Jake Holmes. That was the night Jimmy first heard the song 'Dazed and Confused' by Jake Holmes.

Led Zeppelin were originally scheduled to play the Fillmore East on May 29, 1969 according to a handbill, but they played the Boston Tea Party on that date instead.

After the Fillmore East closed in 1971 the building was vacant for most of the 1970's.

On September 20, 1980, a huge private gay disco, 'The Saint,' opened in the old Fillmore East. The owner poured over $4 million dollars into the club, a 50,000 square foot tri-level entertainment complex. A massive 76-foot high dome capped the 4,800 square foot main dance floor. During the 1980's the club was enormously popular in the gay community, but then ultimately ended up closing on May 2, 1988. It re-opened in 1989 without the dome, but permanently closed in just four short months.

In 1995 the theater portion of the building was demolished, and in 1997 luxury rental apartments, 'Hudson East,' were built in it's place (at 225 East Sixth Street). An Emigrant Savings Bank currently occupies the lobby of the old Fillmore East at 105 Second Avenue.

Notes: Exterior shot of the Fillmore East:
Notes: Inside the Fillmore East at a Doors concert
Notes: The Fillmore East lobby:
Notes: A fire next door at a Who show in May 1969 (see Led Zeppelin on marquee):
Notes: Here’s how the front of the building looks today (Emigrant Savings Bank):
Notes: Here are the “Hudson East” apartments that currently occupy a large portion of the old Fillmore East:
Notes: Photo of Timothy Leary in front of the Village Theater in 1966: