BRONX / LUSH / REV: From the Archives

This is the story of the building which was known as the Rev, which also housed Lush, and before that was the MIGHTY Bronx -- by JPX

1908: Salvation Army Citadel

"An option for a site on the brow of the hill on McDougall Ave. for a hospital, rescue home and shelter has been taken up by the Salvation Army and the purchase made. Construction work will not commence until next spring, if then, but the intention of the Salvation Army is to erect a modern hospital for care of destitute sick. The rescue home and shelter will be allied institutions.

"Brigadier Burdett, of Winnipeg, on instructions from headquarters in Toronto, made the purchase of the property. He also negotiated the purchase of a corner lot in Strathcona on which a Salvation Army barracks will be erected.

Edmonton's first Salvation Army Hall
(Edmonton Municipal Archives)

"The Army in Edmonton has been instructed from headquarters to obtain immediately temporary premises for rescue work. It is probable Edmonton will be made headquarters for the West of the Salvation Army work in Canada."

-- Edmonton Bulletin, Vol. V, No. 314 – December 17, 1908 (p.10)

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Citadel: Noun. A defensive fortress, typically built within the walls of a city.  From Latin "Citadella" meaning little city, ie, the smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core

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1926: Construction of the Salvation Army Citadel, 10030 - 102 St.

"The Salvation Army was founded in 1865 in response to the social ills spawned by the industrial revolution.  As the name implies, the Salvation Army is organized on a military model, so it is only natural that its meeting hall, the Citadel, be designed along the lines of a fortress.  

The Salvation Army Citadel, 10030 - 102 St.
At the bottom left corner of the building, it is written:
"For the Glory of God, this stone was laid"

"The Salvation Army Citadel was built in 1926 to house its church services, meetings and philanthropic works that have been its trademark [...].  Built at a cost of $39,300, it was opened by Commissioner Charles Rich, the Salvation Army's western Canada superintendent, who said the work of the organization would be carried on with still greater devotion, now that they were in the new building."

-- from "Old Citadel Still Singing," Edmonton Journal, January 25, 2001

"The [building] features a flat roof with gabled parapets at each corner, ornate brick and tile detailing, and an imposing central tower. Two slender towers connected by recessed panels, vertical brick pier and the recessed and arched entryway compose this central tower. There is a small corbelled brick balcony halfway up the north tower. These features give the building the appearance of a fortress, but the strong vertical elements also evoke an ecclesiastical feel."

-- from Edmonton Building Heritage News Vol. 8 No. 2, December 2004

"Magoon and MacDonald, architects, chose clinker bricks for the facade of the Citadel and incorporated turrets in their 1925 design to give it a rugged, castle-like appearance.  Polychrome tiles lighten the mood, and the towers in the centre of the facade echo the design of many small Albertan churches.  Thus the dual function of the Citadel as a Christian stronghold and a centre of social outreach was expressed in the design of the building."

  

-- From "Historical Walking Tours of Edmonton," June 2004.

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The Salvation Army Citadel in June 1965.

(Edmonton municipal archives)

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1965: Citadel is vacant. "Congregation attempting to sell downtown structure."

"After almost 40 years of loyal service, the old Salvation Army Citadel has gone into temporary retirement.

[...] "Last fall this now aging, but still dignified edifice was vacated in favour of the one-time Central Pentecostal Tabernacle, 10047 108th St.

"What does the future hold for the old Citadel?

"[...] It might be a delightful and interesting building for an art gallery, gift shop, or an antique shop.  Only time will tell."

- Edmonton Journal, January 23, 1965

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1965: The Citadel becomes home to Edmonton theatre company

"[In 1965], [the Salvation Army] acquired larger premises in the former Central Pentecostal Tabernacle at 10047 108th St. So, Joe Shoctor and a group of enterprising businessmen cum theatre buffs -- including Sandy McTaggart, Ralph McMillan, John Soprovich and the late J.L. Martin -- purchased the structure for $100,000.

Citadel Theatre
and Downstairs steakhouse

"The building then began a second life. Some $200,000 was spent to convert it to the city's first professional live theatre since the Second World War.

"With 277 gold seats, chandeliers, and a balcony, the renovated facility opened that November to a packed and critically acclaimed run of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf. The building continued as the city's professional theatre centre until 1976 when the new Citadel Theatre opened. Naturally, the new facility took the name of its predecessor."

 -- from "Latest Salvation is a beauty school, Edmonton Journal, January 3, 1986

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? "The show had opened in 1962 on Broadway, split the critics, horrified audiences, and went on to be regarded as one of the classics of modern theatre. Woolf was full of four letter words and raw emotions – elements that had seldom been seen before on an Edmonton stage."  (citadeltheatre.com)

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The Citadel Theatre, seen looking South down 102 Street in 1968.
(Edmonton Municipal Archives)

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"The Citadel was converted to house the city's first professional live theatre in 1965. The new Citadel Theatre at 9829 - 101A Avenue was opened in 1976 and since that time the Old Citadel, as it is now generally known, has seen various uses."

  

-- From "Historical Walking Tours of Edmonton," June 2004.

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Former Citadel to become city's new disco spot (January 20, 1977)

"The old Citadel Theatre is being converted into the Theatre Disco
.
"Radio disc jockeys Bob McCord and Chuck Chandler have joined Peter Travis and Roy Shatzko, owners of the Point After nightspot, to turn the once proud home of John Neville and the Citadel into the home of "dancing fluid motion across walls of foil."

[...] "The disco will preserve much of the original theatre environment, including the stage which will become one of Canada's largest dance floors, say the promoters. The entrance will be repainted and recarpeted.  Over $40,000 worth of sound equipment and a light show are being installed, including strobe lights, flashing beacons and liquid projectors.

"The once fashionable Downstairs restaurant will be turned into a game room with two pool tables, pinball and electronic game machines.

"There will also be an unlicensed concession stand.

"Theatre Disco is scheduled to open Jan 27 and operate from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 4 p.m. to midnight Sunday."

Edmonton Journal

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The Marvel School of Beauty (1986). For "hirsuite but frugal city folk."

"It's gone from soup and salvation to the snipping and buzzing of nattily-coiffed hair stylists at work -- and it's had a mid-life flirt with theatre to boot. [...] Current propriotor Frank Cairo has parlayed the sombre church and former venue for live professional theatre into part of his beauty school empire.

"Would-be beauticians and hair stylists of both sexes roam from end to end of the building in white-frocked clusters, some buzzing around hirsuite but frugal city folk anxious for one of the cheapest clips in town.

"[...] It was purchased by [Frank] Cairo for $560,000. More renovations were made -- $250,000 this time -- to make the building suitable for use as a beauty school. The floor had to be levelled, walls repained, offices built on the former balcony, new furnaces and electrical systems installed, and the building weatherstripped and sealed.

"Little remains of the original building except for the facade, double doors, and ornate open beam ceiling.  Disconnected stage lights still focus on the former stage -- now a classroom area."

 -- "Latest Salvation is a beauty school, Edmonton Journal, January 3, 1986

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"We're trying to create a place for people who aren't comfortable elsewhere." -- Oliver Friedmann

Edmonton Sun, April 29, 1991:

"Bronx, the hippest, street-level club in Edmonton, wants to live life on the wild side.  Clubs are a risky business in this city.  Clubs that stake out territory on the fringe -- playing cult music, booking little known bands -- better not sign long leases.  

"Most of the time its local bands -- The Smalls or the Imagineers -- but music director Oliver Friedmann is booking rising bands that used to pass on Edmonton because of a lack of suitable venues. 

"Recent successes include Toronto rappers Dream Warriors and Bootsauce.  Tickets for Dread Zeppelin -- one of America's biggest cult bands -- on May 7 are going quickly. 

"Can we label Bronx? Underground. On the cutting edge.  Not mainstream.  And, worst of all for those who get stuck with the label, alternative.  'I hate that word,' says Friedmann, with a resigned smile on his face.  'It lumps together anything that not's mainstream.'

"Yet that 'A' word crops up even Friedmann, 25, talks about Bronx, a club with an open membership (anyone can join by paying $16) of more than 1,300.  

Deadly on ice.

"'We're trying to create a place for people who aren't comfortable elsewhere,' Friedmann says.  'Music is just one facet.  There's an atmosphere.'

"The atmosphere brings in a clientele that includes '90s hippies, skateboard punks and collegiate kids in loafers.  

"Bronx is dark, but not dingy.  Local artists have left their marks.  The club looks like a surreal art gallery. 

"Twenty-year-old university student John Butt is a fan of the club's progressive music policy and the relaxed enivronment. 'The open atmosphere draws a lot of people.'

"Donna Skrypichayko, 20, and Sandy Yee, 18, are also regulars.  'I can come in here in bell-bottom fluorescents (pants).  People say, 'that's great,'' says Yee.

"Ninety per cent of the membership is between the ages of 19 and 22, with many students. 

"Regulars know the DJs are tuned in.  Friedmann was playing the Soup Dragons six months before anyone in town and was on a dance favourite like Soho's Hippie Chick a year ago.  The DJ's selections must preserve the 'musical edge or identity,' Friedmann says.  Musical knowledge and awareness of what's hot on the street level are essential.

"Friedmann admits his clienteles musical tastes often disappoint him, but he accepts that reality.  'People vote with their feet," he says. 'You've got to keep your dance floor full.'

"K-97 program directory Gary McGowan is an admirer of Bronx.  'There has to be a good street-level alternative music scene.  Where else can you find that?'"

-- from the Edmonton Archives

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"Ah, the Bronx.  So many vague memories." -- Attendee

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Nirvana played the Bronx on Tuesday, May 5, 1991.

• "According to an attendee, Kurt [Cobain] stopped playing in the middle of a song to tell the crowd he needed a cigarette. Multiple people apparently threw cigarettes to him, and then he resumed the song."
• Someone was seen video taping the show.

from nirvanaguide.com

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1992: The Bronx becomes a venue for raves.  

Research suggests that this was Edmonton's first party recognizable as a rave.
The name was "Zero Gravity" (April 11, 1992) and the venue was the mighty Bronx.
The promotion company was "Bronx & Breakaway Music."

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On the significance of these parties (in the words of someone who was there):

"In a word: Freedom.

"Freedom to be yourself. Freedom to speak freely. Freedom to connect with others on an extremely personal and intimate level that isn't possible in the day-to-day existence of so many people on this Earth. And especially in Alberta.

"At the time that I went to my first rave, I was sixteen years old, and that was a time in the province's existence when there was no tolerance for anything outside the norm. There was no space to welcome anything beyond [the pre-planned, conservative path that the government had set out for you].

"Being able to subvert the establishment made me open my eyes to an entire world of possibilities.  Just that basic freedom to speak your mind, and to be who you really are, changed the lives of me and everyone I love the most.

" [...] I was just so overwhelmed by the fact that every person I saw [at parties], they hugged, and they kissed each other, and there was such an openness... Growing up in Alberta, that's not something you see everyday, and it's not something that my family subscribed to. I had never heard my parents say 'I love you' to me, but yet I saw these people freely embracing and giving of themselves to their friends.

"I just kept looking around to see if this was real, in Alberta, in Edmonton."

from interview done September 9, 2016

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Many, many raves. 

Brought to you by Love Children Productions

15,000 Giga Watts

          

Just a few flyers for parties at the Bronx

Not shown: Krusty Raves and many more.

"The Bronx has held six [parties] in the last year, private parties attracting crowds of 500 who drink booze or Smart Drinks, non-alcoholic, vitamin-laden refreshments for extra energy." -- Edmonton Journal, "Rave On," February 26, 1993, page A1

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Something like 1995: The Bronx becomes the Rev / Lush

"Our niche has always been based around drink specials and alternative music. People who come to dance at Lush or see bands at The Rev are more in tune with music. They care about it a bit more." -- Wayne Jones, general manager of The Rev and Lush

"Upcoming @ the Rev."  No Facebook, back then.
To find out about events, they would print off a poster,
and you would look at it.  Thursday, May 2, 1996

"The club has three levels and a pair of dance floors connected by a warren of stairs and hallways. Vintage furniture and fixtures occupy every spare corner.

"Angie Roos, a Lush regular and University of Alberta arts student who turns 23 today, agrees the music and the accompanying attitude are big draws.

'There's totally different music, a totally different crowd and a totally different vibe in each section. It's more diverse; if you don't like what they're playing in one part, for sure you'll like what's happening in the other,' Roos says.

"'And if you don't like that, you can go next door to The Rev to catch a band, which adds another dimension to it.'"

-- from "Gyrations and Libations," Edmontn Journal, May 22, 1998
archived at etownravehistorypapers.blogspot.com

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1995-6: Parties at the Rev.  Examples of flyers: 

August 3, 1997

September 8, 1995

"Take you back to the earliest days of techno,
with classic tracks such as James Brown is Dead and Get Ready for This"
-- August 10, 1996

August 4, 1996. "Davey [James] took over at 1am spinning a variety of progressive trance, acid, along with some west coast break and underground tracks. He ended his set strong, and when he finished with Access by DJ Misjah he got a strong response from the crowd who also appreciated his smooth mixing. I listened a little bit to Raggedy Andy spinning his house set before retreating to the basement to cool down and chill out." -- from King Ron's Party Reviews

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October 1996: Rev re-configuration

"I got in just before midnight at which time Tryptomene was stirring up the main room. I decided to check things out first before hitting the dance floor and was pleasantly surprised to see the change in the 2nd room since the last time I was there. The 2nd room used to be this tiny little space that was poorly ventilated and very hot and uncomfortable. Now they've switched this room with the pool table room which is adjacent to the tiny room. This new room has a larger area and is much less enclosed than the other room which is a major improvement. 

[...] "I made my way back up the stairs and onto the crowded dance floor in the main room for the rest of Tryptomene's set who was playing a lot of older material. The sound system and the lighting were very good just like last time. At about 1:30, Czech came on spinning some funky west coast breaks and trip-hop. And was he ever doing some cool mixing and intense scratching!" 

-- from King Ron's Party Reviews, "Sunday School: One Beat One Love" (October 13, 1996)

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October 12, 1997: Plastikman Party

Location: the Rev/Lush

Price: $14 advance / $16 door

Featuring Richie Hawtin in a 4 HOUR SET!!!!
Also in main room: Tryptomene (Calgary) & DJ Me (Regina)
Room 2: Edmonton's Andy Pockett, Spiltmilk, Geoffrey J
Chill Zone: Ian Mac, Marty

Richie Hawtin, a.k.a Plastikman, did an interview with none other than King Ron:

[...] Ron: "Is there any news on any upcoming releases and/or album?"
Richie: "There's a new release coming out in 2 weeks called Plus 8068 which is just some dance tracks which I've done just under my normal name, my real name."

-- from King Ron's Party Reviews

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A theatrical interlude

In 1998, the Rev was the venue of the Fringe play Ecstasy.

"An enterprising bunch of young, hip, smart actors have taken the buzzed E-fuelled world of parties, dancing and raves to its natural home: an alternative club.

"It's only the second time ever that the 17-year-old Fringe has ventured out of Strathcona into post-apocalyptic downtown Edmonton. And the results are hugely entertaining, pulsing with coloured lights, pounding with music, populated with big, funny, vividly addled characters who are moving FAST in the quest for the mysterious something that will make it all worth wild."

With DJ Cory Payne.  Rating: ****

-- Edmonton Journal, "Ecstasy makes it all worth wild" August 18, 1998

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Introducing the E-town Rave History Papers

In the period from 1998 to 2001, raves in Edmonton became the subject of media scrutiny, as did raves across Canada.  Many articles were published about raves, 'rave drugs,' and 'rave clubs,' culminating in what I am calling "Moral Panic #1" (April 2000 - June 2001). The Rev was frequently named in such articles as a source of noise, vagrancy, drugs, and vandalism downtown.

The collection of articles can be found at in the E-town Rave History Papers (etownravehistorypapers.blogspot.com) with new articles being added weekly.

The most shameless is this one: "Late Night Walkabout Opens Mayor's Eyes to City Club Scene," (Edmonton Journal, May 20, 2001)

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Unhappy neighbours

The alley behind the Bronx / Lush / Rev (#1 on the map) was directly beneath the Cathedral Close senior's home (#2), and led past the Alberta Place Hotel (#3), making for some unhappy neighbours.

from the article: "Seniors live in fear of club's patrons: Managers of hotels, highrise want city to act"

Publication title: Edmonton Journal
Pages: B4 Section: City
Publication date: Oct 26, 2000
Author: Retson, Don

Some seniors in Nicola Coulstring's downtown highrise are too frightened to go to church on Sundays by themselves. They fear for their safety because they live next door to an all-night dance club where revellers are still carousing while other folk are preparing to attend church.

"Due to the extreme noise, it is not uncommon for me to hear stories of tenants who no longer sleep at night," Coulstring told members of city's executive committee Wednesday.

She said other tenants at Cathedral Close Senior Citizens Apartments at 10039 103rd St. gather their pillows and blankets and sleep in a common room where the noise isn't as bad, or buy ear plugs to block the sounds of fire alarms.

Coulstring, the highrise manager, and managers of three nearby hotels, called on the city to address problems associated with downtown rave clubs.

Other downtown businesses also cited a litany of problems caused by the clubs.

"It's a disgrace to the City of Edmonton," said Lillian Pushor, general manager of Alberta Place Suite Hotel at 103rd Steet and 100th Avenue.

Pushor said she has lost business because rave patrons often congregate outside the clubs, intimidating prospective customers. Besides the noise, which she said can easily be heard on the 19th floor of her hotel, some club members will fight, litter, deface property, and even defecate in the back alley.

She told how she once complained to police of loud noise at 6 a.m. and was told to take it up with bylaw officials. But bylaw couldn't do anything either because there are no local regulations governing all-night dance clubs.

"I couldn't get help from anybody," she said.

Pushor is a member of an ad-hoc committee set up by the city in July to review its noise, land-use and licensing bylaws to regulate raves.  [...]

http://etownravehistorypapers.blogspot.ca/2016/12/seniors-live-in-fear-of-clubs-patrons.html

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June 2001: the Rev, meeting place of the Edmonton Right to Dance Coalition 

"A coalition of rave promoters, business owners, nightclub managers, dancers and concerned people calling themselves the Edmonton Right to Dance Coalition are planning to fight the proposed plan to regulate all-night dance parties." 

-- from "Rave promoters, supporters rallying to fight curfew" Edmonton Journal, June 14, 2001

from "Proposed bylaw could put an end to rave parties," 

Edmonton Journal, June 14, 2001

The Edmonton Right to Dance Coalition, in front of the Rev.

We mobilized.  Did we win?  That is a complicated question to answer.  

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2003: Bronx / Lush / Rev, A Graceful Exit

"We are sad to announce the imminent closing of an Edmonton institution. The Rev and Lush nightclubs will be shutting their doors for the last time on Saturday January 11th, 2003.

"Since the opening of The Bronx on New Year's Eve 1988, and over the fifteen years since then, we have set out to provide a venue for both audience and performers in Edmonton's alternative, dance and live music scenes. A place for people who crave more than what's on offer at the mainstream clubs that pepper this city.

"Over the years as underground scenes have moved into the mainstream we have moved too, staying on the leading edge of pop culture throughout our history and striving to provide the ultimate clubbing experience. In this time over 1500 bands have performed on our stage, over 500 DJs have graced our decks, and more than 1,000,000 people have walked through our doors.

"But times change and scenes change and we have made the decision to make a graceful exit. We are proud to have been a part of a vibrant underground music culture in this city, and of what we have accomplished and the many memories we have created. Over the next three weeks we will be celebrating our many years by putting together a program that recreates some of the most popular events we have held and brings together a few of the special bands that have played here for one last blast.

"What we need to complete it is you, the people who have supported and enjoyed this club over the years. So we invite each and every one of you to come down and give the place a proper send off.

"So long and thank you for all the memories."

Boxing Day Blowout

50-cent highballs until 11

Thursday, December 26

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2003: The Rev becomes the Starlite Room; Lush, the Velvet Underground

Intentional Dance courtesy of the THC

Stomp with GOMP

Flyers from events in the Starlite Room / Velvet Underground, 2006 (post-Bronx/Lush/Rev).
Not shown: events by Subterranean Sound.

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The Bronx / Lush / Rev of olde is called the Starlite Room today. 

The new (2016) logo of the Starlite Room hearkens back to the logo of the Salvation Army, in a nod to the origins of the Old Citadel.

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JPX says:

The nightclub that 'had better not sign a long lease' (to use the words of the Edmonton Sun) rocked for 15 years as the Bronx, the Rev, and Lush, and it lives on as the Starlite.  The Salvation Army Citadel, built in 1926, is where raving got its unshakable foothold in the city of Edmonton.  The first parties resembling raves were held here, and in the early years 1992 - 1995, something like 80% of raves in Edmonton happened here, and if raving ain't for the Glory of God like it says on the building's cornerstone, I don't know what is.

When municipalities across Canada began to crack down on raves (around 1999), it was with ultimate goal of making raves 'impossible,' not 'safer.'  Safety had nothing to do with it. Raves could not be allowed to exist.

But the city can't just make a law that says kids can't stay out at night and throw parties (though many cities, Edmonton included, would try some variant of a curfew bylaw).  So they had to go at it from an oblique angle.

In Toronto, police aimed to take down raves by focusing on 'the risks of large numbers of teens taking drugs.'  In Edmonton, police aimed to take down raves by focusing on 'noise, litter and vandalism, and disturbances downtown.'  They set their sights on this club.

The Bronx, and later the Rev / Lush, held.  Edmonton ravers organized themselves politically out of this very building.  And twenty years later, Edmonton still has a scene, even after everything police and city officials did to try to stop it.  This is, after all, a scene built round a fortress.

But what's this? As you come in through the side entrance of the present-day Starlite Room, like we all used to do to get into the Bronx / Lush, just inside the heavy metal door there is a sign high up on the wall:

Privacy Notice. This establishment will be scanning your identification for security purposes [...] name, age and photo. 

This is an Edmonton-wide, police-sponsored initiative: "In response to the growing amount of violence at city bars and night clubs in the last five years, Edmonton police would like to make scanning patrons' identification mandatory at certain locations [namely, downtown, Whyte Ave and West Edmonton Mall]." (Edmonton Sun, April 5, 2015)

It wasn't easy to be gay in Edmonton in the '80s and I just wonder how many people would have steered clear of the queer- and gay-friendly spaces that were the home of Edmonton's early rave scene, if they had to have their picture taken and their personal information recorded.

They always go at it from an oblique angle, and always in the name of risk/security. And they go at it again and again.  The Edmonton Right to Dance Coalition prevailed, but did we win?  No, we did not win, because you cannot really win: but you can push back.

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