A step back in time with the world's most iconic music venues
Over 100 years of dancing the night away
Red Rocks Amphitheater, Colorado
Red Rocks Amphitheater is Colorado’s most celebrated music venue. John Brisben Walker purchased the property in the late 1800s and originally used it as a small amusement park and tourist attraction. In the following years, he discovered the grand acoustic properties between Ship Rock, Creation Rock and Stage Rock and hosted the first concert in 1910 with the Signor Ferrulo band.
Construction for the Red Rocks Amphitheater as we know it today started in 1936 and was completed in 1941. Still utilizing the structure’s massive, sound-hugging form, Red Rocks is one of America’s most stunning music venues and is for many artists a favorite performance location. In 2016 alone, the venue has seen LCD Soundsystem, Flume, Halsey, Zeds Dead and an entire HARD production.
The DC Armory, Washington
The DC Armory is a massive concert venue originally used as the headquarters, armory and training facility for the DC National Guard. Construction finished in 1941 and has since been used to host Presidential inauguration balls, auto shows and by the FBI during World War II as the Identification Division to store fingerprint records. The DC Armory is now used as a performance and show venue with a 10,000 person capacity. Electronic artists that have taken to the Armory stage and filled the dancefloor include Kaskade and Armin Van Buuren.
[Photos: National Guard Amory, Fingerprinting Division 1945 / DC Armory 2011]
Zouk, Singapore
Zouk Singapore was originally a complex of three warehouses built in 1919 overlooking the Singapore river. Since its conversion into a superclub, the Zouk team has spent millions of dollars revamping the former dilapidated space and brought seminal artists like Ricardo Villolobos, Carl Cox, Sven Vath and more to the Lion City.
Concrete, Paris
Concrete Paris opened five years ago, acting as a major player in the resurgence of Parisian nightlife. Designed for after-hour affairs, Concrete opens at 7am and runs until 2am the following night. The venue is held on a boat dock standing on the Seine river, overlooking the Viaduc d’Austerlitz, built in 1904.
[Photos: Le Viaduc Dans Les Années 1910 / Concrete 2014]
Metro and Smart Bar, Chicago
Metro and Smart Bar were the birthplaces and home of Chicago’s electronic music scene. The venues' residencies, which included Frankie Knuckles, Derrick Carter and Joe Smooth, brought the safe haven of house and techno to the city and paved the way to North America’s obsession with the remarkable genres.
The location was built in 1927 as the Swedish Community Center and later converted to the Northside Auditorium Building. Metro was opened by Joe Shanahan in 1982 in the building’s fourth floor penthouse and in the following months, introduced Smart Bar as an underground dance venue. Presently, it still stands as Chicago’s mainstay destination, continuing to bring in legendary talent like Carl Craig, Jimmy Edgar and Midland.
[Photos: Northside Auditorium Building 1970s / Metro Chicago 2016]
[Photo Credit: Denver Public Library / Red Rocks / George Skadding / DC Clubbing / Zouk / Resident Advisor / Cinema Treasures / Selma Harris / Kathy Dewitt / Webster Hall / Nicky Digital / PropertyShark / Wall Street Journal / Museum of New York City / Architects' and Builders' Magazine / Alfredo Flores / Los Angeles Conversancy / LA Exchange / Art Streib / Los Angeles Times / Amnesia Ibiza / G. Murat / Getty Images]
Sydney is Mixmag's US Digital Content Editor. Follow her on Twitter here
