“Whatever Happened To.?” is a feature that explores favorite haunts of the past and revisits the headlines of yesteryear. Morrell is a Rochester-based freelance writer. which was shut down because of violence - was transformed into Grace Unity Fellowship Church in the 1990s. On the flip side, the former Club Babylon at 265 N. A 1978 news story mentions Blake’s Nite Club, which opened in the former First Methodist Church on Main Street in Webster. Incidentally, Heaven’s home at 50 Liberty Pole Way was not the only former local church to be converted to a nightclub.
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Spectrum, for instance, was closed by city officials in 1997 because of an inadequate sprinkler system, and Gotham City - which hosted musical acts like Moby and Smash Mouth - had its entertainment license revoked in 2000 because of problems. Those clubs also had their run-ins with local authorities. It was followed by subsequent clubs with names like New York Nites, Spectrum and Gotham City. In a later news story, Spevak called the building at 50 Liberty Pole Way “one of the acoustically favorable large-club venues in Rochester” as well as “one of the most intriguing but troubled locations in downtown Rochester.” Heaven lasted until the summer of 1995, when it closed for good. They fought back and eventually won, with a Heaven official saying downtown was in dire need of nightlife and the city seemed willing to shut down one of downtown’s most successful clubs. closing time.Ĭlub owners said the fault was not solely theirs. Then-Police Chief Roy Irving called Heaven “a continuously disorderly premises.” Fights sometimes followed when the large crowds spilled onto the streets at the 2 a.m. The Rochester Police Department refused to renew Heaven’s entertainment license at the end of 1993, which allows dancing at the club. Heaven quickly became the go-to place, with crowds in the hundreds common, sometimes even on weeknights in normally staid downtown Rochester.Īnd that frequently became a problem. The clientele was all over the board - rich and poor, gay and straight, preppies and posers. “People on the phone ask to speak to God, they ask if I’m positive we’re not really in hell, they say, ‘Oh no, my time hasn’t come yet,’ ” he remarked in the 1991 story. before getting into the club scene, promised the “best laser light show the city has to offer.”Ĭlever callers quipped about the otherworldly moniker, Davidson told DiChario. The extensively renovated former church held more than 1,000 people on its giant dance floor and 50-table balcony seating area. As Donna DiChario wrote in a 1991 Democrat and Chronicle article, Heaven “featured a mix of DJ-driven dance parties, modern music college nights and concerts.” Heaven was gussied up to be the best of all. Davidson had previously managed other Liberty Pole Way clubs like Idols, Liberty and Metro. Patricia Anthony owned Heaven, and Alan Davidson was the manager. Heaven opened in June 1990 in a spot that had earlier housed the Renaissance Theater, a club where bands like fabled Minnesota punk rockers the Replacements once played. Liberty Pole Way is in the shadows of the enormous Sibley building and has long been an eclectic and popular nightlife spot. When a new club named Purgatory opened just down the street from Heaven, Democrat and Chronicle columnist Jeff Spevak remarked in a 1993 story, “A club called Hell can’t be far behind.” Avant-garde singer Grace Jones and hard rockers Living Colour were among the musicians who performed on Heaven’s stage.Īnd yes, people had fun with the name. Heaven was one of several incarnations of a former Baptist Temple on Liberty Pole Way and boasted the city’s biggest dance floor and a booming sound system that attracted huge crowds.Ĭlub-goers partied the night away in a building adorned with the temple’s original stained-glass windows, balcony and elaborate woodwork. This version of celestial paradise was a dance club. For a few years in the 1990s, Heaven was in downtown Rochester.