1970 - 1985: The Mineshaft at 835 Washington Street

From 1970 to 1975 the gay clubs Cycle, Den, Zodiac and O.K. Corral operated from 835 Washington Street. The Mineshaft operated at the premises from 1976 until its closure in 1985.

In Beyond Shame:  Reclaiming the Abandoned History of Radical Gay Sexuality (Beacon Press: 2004), Patrick Moore writes:

Perhaps the most famous S/M club that ever existed was New York’s Mineshaft.  Opened in October 1976, the Mineshaft operated continuously until 1985 at 835 Washington Street (the corner of Little West Twelth) in the Mean District.  Other clubs and private parties catered to even more specialized tastes, but the Mineshaft epitomized the sexual frontier.  Although it was always rumored to have been Mafia-owned, the Mineshaft was managed by the godfather of leather sensibility, Wally Wallace, who died of heart failure in 1999.

In an article (“Meat Market on the Ropes”) from the July 14-20, 2004 issue of The Villager, Tim Gay writes:

At one time, the Mineshaft was the area’s premier members-only club.  Located on Washington St. at Little W. 12^th St., it was open around the clock from Wednesday night through Monday morning, featuring a roof deck, clothes check, dungeons and other amenities.  The S&M free-for-all opened in 1977 before the AIDS era, and was finally closed by the city’s Department of Health in 1985.  Wally Wallace, the manager, went on to have private spaces on Christopher St. and in Chelsea, but nothing lived up to the notoriety of the Mineshaft.

An article (“City Closes Bar Frequented By Homosexuals, Citing Sexual Activity Linked To AIDS”) by Joyce Purnick from the New York Times states:

New York City yesterday closed a bar frequented by homosexuals, contending that it permitted “high-risk sexual activity” linked to the spread of AIDS.  It was the first such action taken by the city since New York States enacted new rules designed to curb the growing incidence of the deadly disease by empowering local governments to shut down bathhouses, bars and other places where dangerous sex takes place.  * *   *  [T]he city asserts that the bar – the Mineshaft at 835 Washington Street, near Little West 12^th Street, in Greenwich Village – is not only in violation of the new anti-AIDS regulations but also is a public nuisance and has been operating without a liquor license.  * * *  Its owners, listed in court papers as the DAJ Real Estate Management Corporation, could not be reached yesterday, and its operators were not identified.  The Mine Saft is a “notorious and well-known place,” in the words of Richard Dunne, executive director of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis.  In graphic depositions written by city inspectors, a portrait emerged of a dark place with black walls, back rooms, open cubicles without doors and the accouterments of sadomasochism.  They reported seeing many patrons engaging in anal intercourse and fellatio – the “high risk” sexual practices cited in the state rules – and hearing sounds of whipping and moaning.

A November 9, 1985 article (“At Homosexual Establishments, A New Climate of Caution”) by Ralph Blumenthal from the New York Times states:

Following the closing of the Mine Shaft – which some activists described as the ‘granddaddy’ of the city’s homosexual clubs and which inspectors said permitted dangerous sexual practices – Mayor Koch said yesterday that the city was investigating whether the club might have been improperly registered as a fraternal organization and whether it had properly paid taxes.

A November 13, 1985 article (“City Says Tax Investigation of Clubs was Halted in ’82”) by Joyce Purnick from the The New York Times states:

Mr. [Paul A.] Crotty [the City Finance Commissioner] said the landlord of the bar – the Mine Shaft at 835 Washington Street – paid real estate taxes.  But the bar did not pay a commercial occupancy tax or a business tax.  * * *  The landlords of the Mine Shaft, the DAJ Real Estate Management Corporation, said in court papers that it was unaware of what took place in the bar and wanted the property back so it could lease to another business.  Doron Gopstein, the chief assistant corporation counsel, said he was skeptical about the owners’ saying they did not know the nature of the Mine Shaft.

A March 1, 1986 article (“6 Tied To Late-Night Clubs Indicted in Conspiracy Case”) by Kirk Johnson from the New York Times states:

Six former owners and employees of two Manhattan after-hours clubs were indicted yesterday on charges that they evaded liquor and tax laws and then conspired to impede investigations of those crimes.  Attorney General Robert Abrams, in announcing the indictments, said the six men had operated the clubs “with a complete disregard for the liquor and tax laws: and that they “conspired to bribe and coerce witnesses in order to frustrate our investigation.”  Three of the men – who prosecutors said were principals of the clubs, the Mine Shaft and Hell Fire – already face charges under an indictment in December stating that they tried to bribe a witness to leave the state so that he could not testify in the investigation.  * * *  Both the Mine Shaft, a club at 835 Washington Street that chiefly catered to homosexuals, and Hell Fire, a mainly heterosexual club at 26 Ninth Avenue, near West 13^th Street, have been closed since last fall.  The Mine Shaft was closed by the city in November under the so-called “safe sex” regulations that were issued last year to curb the spread of AIDS.  Hell Fire closed voluntarily shortly afterward.  * * *  Yesterday’s indictment charged all six men with conspiracy.  Two employees, John Pascarella, of 305 West 18^th Street, and David Givens, of 258 West 22d Street, were also charged with coercion.  The third employee, John Clark, whose address is unknown and who is believed to have fled the country, was charged with perjury.  * * *  The three purported principals, Richard Bell of 500 East 77^th Street; John Dobson, of 20-48 47^th Street, Astoria, Queens, and Vincenzio Caravello of 603 Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn, were released on the bail posted after the December indictment.  * * *  Mr. Bell, a former New York City police officer, pleaded guilty in 1980 to a third-degree burglary charge after two convictions for stealing cocaine from undercover officers were dismissed on appeal.  He was dismissed from the Police Department in 1973.

A November 13, 1986 article (“Ex-Police Officer Who Owned Sex Clubs Faces Bribery Trial”) from the New York Times states:

A former police officer and co-owner of two after-hours Manhattan sex clubs is to go on trial in Manhattan today on bribery charges.  The former officer, Richard Bell, 47 years old, of 500 East 77^th Street in Manhattan, is charged with trying to bribe state officials, who were investigating the clubs for possible tax and liquor law violations, and is facing up to seven years in prison.  He is also charged with tax and liquor law violations.  The clubs, the Mine Shaft and Hellfire, both closed last year.  John Dobson, 37, of Astoria, Queens, and Vincemzio Caravello, 57, of Brooklyn, both co-owners or managers of the clubs, have pleaded guilty to attempted bribery, a felony.  Two other employees have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.

Comments

[CLEAN UN-CUT]

where aew these clubs to day

[Ken]

I use to get fucked 20 plus times a night there and am still alive..those were the days!...b4 AIDS of course...I was the skinny blond who took on 20 guys one after the other in the back bar down stairs use to show up in tight jeans with the crotch ripped out and no undewrwear or shirt..late 70's and early 80's...was in the Eagle's Nest when it opened in 69-70 ish...oh well times have changed..havnt gotten fucked in 6 years..no HIV but got hep-b,clap,syphillus,venerial warts and of course herpes..

[Magnus]

I'm straight, I live on the other side of the Atlantic and I was 9 yrs old when the mineshaft closed but, god, how I would wanted to see that place with my own eyes! This is so fascinating!

[The Nefarious D]

Well, you CAN see snipets of what the inside looked like on YouTube. Al Pachino's move "Cruising" was filmed there back in '81, and they used real patrons of the place as extras. A few scenes from the film are posted on there. I worked with a gentleman who visited that place in its heyday. Based on his recollections, it certainly wasn't for the timid.

[AM]

I went to the Mine Shaft during it's hayday and I'm alive to tell the tale. Everything you may have heard or read is true and then some. Fortunately, I'm HIV negative and have never had a venerial disease. I've lost most of my friends from those days.

[The Nefarious D]

Condolences, AM. But we're glad to have you still with us, my friend. :)

[Kevin]

Used to go all of the time between 80-85 It was intense, hot, but a regular bar (in a sencse) at the same time---I remember walking past 2 tall, haoiry burly leather men by the glory holes upstairs and when I heard their conversation is wa really 2 queens discussing a tuna noodle casserole recipe---i am not making this up! Summers were great with the roof deck open. I saw all kinds of shit there! I was in me early 20s at the time. sigh----stll have my membership card --- clack plastic with an embossed numer at the bottom---good times good times

[Bob B]

NYC was a mess back in the 70's & 80's..Mayor Lindsay..Central Park was a mess..pot holes .abandon cars, Times Square sex clubs..But the Village had sex everywhere..the Piers..the Trucks..Back Rooms..I was great !I have fond memories of the Mineshaft..[ wish I could remember more ]..heavy parting back then. In the 80's I was one of the guys in the tub's..wearing nothing but work boots & sox & a baseball hat..and piss..

[Lenny Waller]

The Mine Shaft was a haven for leather & raunch. Before it It was dangerous on the piers & in the back of parked trucks.
The mine Shaft was a Safer place to meet & play.
NYC is wat to sanatized today.
Bring back the Good Old Days,
Lenny Waller

[Ruby]

Fascinating stuff. I am a huge Robert Mapplethorpe fan and read that he went there every night. I am a woman and straight so even if I would have been old enough to get in, I was also 9 when the place closed, there would have been no chance of gaining entry. My curiosity about the Mineshaft and my obsession with the sleazy side of New York circa 70's and early 80's, led me to read Fritscher's "Assault With a Deadly Camera" and watch "Cruising", the Pacino cult classic. What you see happening in those scenes were sanitized. Apperantly it got real wild and crazy for real in there. The movie also caused a great deal of controversy because mainstream Gays were concerned about the negative images of Leathermen and promiscuity. William Friedken, who made the movie was forced to cut several scenes out. Sadly when the dvd was released the scenes were not included because they were "lost". Hardcore rape scene and a brutal murder. I always wondered what the inside of the Mineshaft looked like. The movie is atrocious and the acting is soooooo bad, but what a fascinating look at the underbelly of NYC when I was a toddler in Queens. I understand that toward the end of the clubs existence it became a tourist attraction with people coming in from all over to gawk and see what was probably the most infamous, and most talked about nightclub in the world. Michel Foucault, the famous French philosopher was a regular and Mick Jagger even tried to gain entry once but was turned away because he was with a woman!! The AIDS epidemic permanently shut down the Mineshaft and other clubs like it here in New York for good in 1985. The West village would never be the same again. Sorry its gone. Its a Thai restaurent now. If only time travel were possible.

Ruby