Down the Street

Down the Street was a popular nightclub in Asbury Park, New Jersey. It opened in 1988 by John Hitchcock who was previously manager/DJ at the ever so popular "M&K". The club had much previous gay history. It was originally the "dance" part of Atlantis, the other part which was a hotel/ piano bar that burned very suspiciously one night after closing. It re-opened in the 1980s as "Visions" by one of the previous owners of "Boots" next door, Len but It had a short lived life as Visions. The club was one of the state's first gay discos.^[1] The name 'Down the Street' was used because it was located down the street from other popular gay clubs, Odyssey and M&K. It housed a dance floor, 5 bars, light shows, and drag |contests. It also had an outside area which included a volleyball court, food cart and another building which housed a quieter bar, The Clubhouse. The club even earned Asbury Park the nicknames "Gay riveria on the East Coast" and "the budget Cherry Grove." When Asbury Park declined in the 1980s, all of the other clubs in the city closed or were razed. However, Down the Street managed to stay open, making it the oldest and longest operating gay disco in New Jersey's history when it closed in 1999. John had moved to Florida with his partner Jay and opened a new and successful bar The Cubby Hole. John since sold that and has retired.

Anybody's

In 2001 part of the abandoned club was re-opened as the gay bar Anybody's. This was in the small separate building in the back known as "The Clubhouse" The bar was fairly popular, but met an untimely demise when the city demolished it under eminent domain in 2007. The website announced "Our last day of operation was June 24, 2006. The property has now been taken over under eminent domain for redevelopment."

References

Coordinates: 40°13′02″N 74°00′14″W / 40.21736°N 74.00384°W / 40.21736; -74.00384