Situated at 213 Park Avenue South, it was opened by restaurateur and arts patron Mickey Ruskin in December 1965 as a safe haven for New York’s creative community.
Max’s quickly became a hangout of choice for artists and sculptors of the New York School whose presence attracted hip celebrities and the jet set. It was also a favourite hangout of Andy Warhol and his entourage.
The free food given away during cocktail hour would often be the only meal some of the regulars would get. Even Lou Reed once said that without Max’s he would have starved, as Mickey fed him every day for nearly three years.
Rock ‘n’ Roll history became punctuated with tales from Max’s. Aerosmith signed their record deal after their first show at Max’s. An unknown Bruce Springsteen got his New York City break there, as did a young Billy Joel. The infamous solo career of Sid Vicious came to its shambolic end there.
It’s where Patti Smith went electric and where David Bowie met Iggy Pop. In Walk On The Wild Side, when Lou Reed sings “Candy came from out on the Island/In the back room, she was everybody’s darling,” Candy was Candy Darling, a Max’s regular. And guess where the backroom that he was talking about was?
And that doesn’t even touch on the influence Max’s had on movies, fashion, art and literature.
But Mickey was no businessman. And with bar tabs often stretching to thousands of dollars, and more and more art being taken in lieu of payment, it was inevitable that even somewhere as magical as Max’s couldn’t keep going and the club closed at the end of 1974.
As Mickey’s involvement ended, a man named Tommy Dean ushered in the second era when he reopened Max’s in 1975. After the strength of character that Ruskin had brought to Max’s, changes were inevitable.
