Bond International Casino Explained

Bond International Casino (sometimes called "Bond's") was a nightclub and music venue located on the east side of Broadway between 44th and 45th Streets near Times Square, New York City.

The venue operated as the International Casino in the 1930s, a popular dinner club (not a gambling house).[1] The club closed by 1940, the vacant location later converted to Bond Clothes, a men's clothing emporium.[1]

Starting in 1980, the location again operated as a nightclub, merging the names of the two previous businesses as Bond International Casino, with co-owner, Maurice Brahms, who later co-owned Underground at 860 Broadway.[2] [3] [1] The new venue had a capacity of 1,800 people.[4] Notable 1980s performers included Blue Öyster Cult, Grace Jones, Blondie, The Plasmatics, Slave, The Dead Kennedys and The Clash.

The space was completely remodeled and reopened in 1988 as the Criterion Center, a pair of live theatre venues, with the larger being a Tony Award-eligible theatre; in 1991 the venues were leased to the Roundabout Theatre Company, which used them until 1999, when the building was completely gutted to make room for a flagship Toys R Us store.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Bowery Boys: New York City History: FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER: Bond International Casino . Theboweryboys.blogspot.com . 2007-09-27 . 2014-05-26.
  2. News: Freitag . Michael . Violence at Discotheque Mobilizes Neighborhood . 2 June 2023 . The New York Times . 8 January 1990.
  3. News: Foderaro . Lisa W. . Plush Discos Offer Rock, Rap and Romanticism . 2 June 2023 . The New York Times . 11 November 1988.
  4. Web site: Signed D.C. . It's All The Streets You Crossed Not So Long Ago: The Bow-Ties That Bond . Streetsyoucrossed.blogspot.com . 2005-11-04 . 2014-05-26.