Irving PlazaNew York NY, United States

Irving Plaza is a legendary mid-sized (1,200 capacity) venue in lower Manhanttan, and one of the best known venues in the North East. It has hosted historic icons like Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan as well as current acts like the Strokes, the White Stripes, Interpol, Beck, Coheed and Cambria, U2, and more.

Built in 1888, the space was used as a Polish Army veterans’ headquarters, a Yiddish theatres, a union meeting place, and even a Burlesque hall. The auditorium was converted into a rock venue in 1978, and underwent many different managements until it was announced in December 1988 that the space would be demolished and turned into condos. The Ramones played the “final” show at Irving Plaza that year on New Years Eve.

Fortunately the space was not demolished and Irving Plaza hosted bands well throughout the 90s and 00s. In 2007, the space was acquired by Live Nation, and renamed “The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza,” a revival of the club [venue]Fillmore East[/venue] in the East Village that had operated from 1968 to 1971. In addition to the name change, the legendary IRVING PLAZA marquee was taken down and decommissioned. After audible outrage from the New York concertgoing community and music fans worldwide, Live Nation decided to officially change the name back to “Irving Plaza” and restored a replica of the original marquee to the doors of the venue.

Today, Irving Plaza still operates as a concert venue and is still owned by Live Nation. The venue imposes an age limit of 16+ for every show. The space is also used periodically by the Hillsong Church of New York for their inaugural services.