The NY Comedy world caught some bad news late last year when Carolines Comedy Club abruptly closed its doors after 30 years in its Times Square location (40 total in NYC).
While that news was unsettling, the club stated that the brand would live on outside of its physical location as it still organizes the NY Comedy Festival and carry the name through a series of pop up events at various locations around the nation.
Today, the National Comedy Center cut the ribbon for an exhibit highlighting the legendary club and its impact on the comedy landscape. Club founder and its namesake Caroline Hirsch was on hand for the ribbon cutting at the center, located in Jamesburg NY not only covers the history of the club but it also shows off the club’s iconic color diamond pattern that served as the backdrop on the stage all those years in Times Square.
Located at 750 Seventh Avenue in the heart of the Broadway theater district, Caroline’s has played host to such comedy superstars as Jerry Seinfeld, Gilbert Gottfried, Lewis Black, Billy Crystal, Jon Stewart, Larry David, Joy Behar, Jimmy Fallon, Michael Che, Robin Williams and Conan O’Brien, as well as untold numbers of lesser-known talents.
The club opened its Times Square location in 1992 after a decade at downtown addresses in the Chelsea and South Street Seaport neighborhoods. “People thought we were crazy to invest in Times Square,” the announcement reads, pointing out the area’s crime rate and government inattention, “only later to say that we were ahead of the curve when global brands like Disney, Nasdaq and national retailers and businesses came to the neighborhood.”
