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Knockdown Center

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Coordinates: 40°42′55″N 73°54′49″W / 40.71528°N 73.91361°W / 40.71528; -73.91361
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The main hall of Knockdown Center in 2017.

Knockdown Center is a cultural space, performance venue, and art center, located in the Maspeth neighborhood of Queens, New York City. The Center includes many architecturally notable features: 20,000 square-foot main hall, a backyard nicknamed The Ruins, a large gallery, and several other adjacent halls of varying sizes.

Interior of Knockdown Center during an event.

Since 2013, Knockdown Center has been the venue of many musical and visual art events. As of 2022, artists who have performed there include Wu-Tang Clan, LCD Soundsystem, Jeff Mills, Kim Gordon, Turnstile, Arca, Frank Ocean, Honey Dijon, Animal Collective, Juice World, James Blake, Fred Again, Sun O))), Yung Lean, and Chelsea Manning.[1] Earlier in the same year, Pitchfork announced an all-new concert series called Pitchfork Presents, to be hosted at the Center. The venue has been called the "Queens' answer to The Kitchen,"[2] a reference to the notable avant-garde performance venue in Manhattan's Chelsea district.

Knockdown Center is also home to Basement (opened in May 2019)[3] a techno club, and The Ruins, an on-site outdoor venue. It is home to NYC's Horsemeat Disco and Tiki Disco events and annual events Bushwig, Get Wrecked and Carry Pride, Haunted Hop, Everyday People Roller Disco, and Coldest Winter Ball.

History

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An exterior shot of the side gallery.

The building has been in continuous use for 100 years. First constructed in 1903, it was first used as a glass factory by the Gleason-Tiebout Glass Company.[4] In the 1930s, the proprietor of the building transitioned the warehouse for a door manufacturing company. Named the Manhattan Door Factory,[5] this company invented the "knock-down frame," a kind of door which allows contractors to build walls first and then install doors later.

The warehouse became vacant in 2010, when the door company moved its operations to New Jersey. In the years that followed until 2013, the grandson of the original proprietor[6] who inherited the grounds began cleaning the building up.[citation needed]

In 2012, as Knockdown Center, Michael Merck, Kate Watson, and Tyler Myers opened an outdoor exhibition of sculptural mini-golf holes,[7] commissioned after a call for entries. A few events began in 2013[8] before the building was renovated. The building’s first liquor license application was denied in April, 2014 prior to an M.I.A. concert on May 9, 2014.

The renovated first floor opened on May 20, 2016[9] with liquor license after a very contentious two year struggle.

Basement

Basement opened on May 10, 2019 with a single room in the basement of Knockdown Center.[10] Co-founded by Téa Abashidze, Gega Japaridze, and Tyler Myers, and owned/operated by Knockdown Center, its program is tightly and purposefully curated around dark techno. Basement opened a second room called Studio on September 2, 2022, expanding the programatic scope of the venue while maintaining the focus of the main room.

References

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  1. ^ Hatfield, Amanda (2022-08-29). "Chelsea Manning is DJing Bushwig (2022 lineup)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
  2. ^ Sullivan, Johnny (2022-02-24). "5 Historical NYC Venues Worth A Visit In 2022". news.bandsintown.com. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
  3. ^ Lhooq, Michelle (May 10, 2019). "Is New York Finally Getting the Techno Club It Deserves?". Paper Mag. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  4. ^ "Gleason-Tiebout Glass Company". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1907-12-14. p. 16. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
  5. ^ Ihaza, Jeff (2017-08-21). "The Knockdown Center is making space for everyone". The Outline. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
  6. ^ Ellin, Abby (2001-08-29). "Management: Family Conflicts That Can Bring A Business Down; Money and Personality Clashes Are Often the Prime Culprits". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  7. ^ Ihaza, Jeff. "The Knockdown Center is making space for everyone". The Outline. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  8. ^ Ratliff, Ben (2013-05-03). "A House of Drone, Ecstatic and Raw, With a Potent Aura of Largess". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  9. ^ "Authority Figure". The Knockdown Center. 2016-03-16. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  10. ^ "New York's Techno Club Basement Opens in Queens - PAPER Magazine". www.papermag.com. Retrieved 2024-11-27.

40°42′55″N 73°54′49″W / 40.71528°N 73.91361°W / 40.71528; -73.91361

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