kansas city max s location manhattan new york owner mickey ruskin tommy dean mills type music venue restaurant construction opened 1965 renovated 1975 closed 1981 website http www.maxskansascity.com max s kansas city was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 park avenue south in new york city which became a gathering spot for musicians poets artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s . it was opened by mickey ruskin 1933 1983 in december 1965 . contents 1 history 1.1 max s i 1.2 mickey ruskin 1.3 max s ii 1.4 max s iii 1.5 aftermath 2 further reading 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit max s i edit max s quickly became a hangout of choice for artists and sculptors of the new york school like john chamberlain robert rauschenberg and larry rivers whose presence attracted hip celebrities and the jet set . 1 neil williams larry zox forrest frosty myers larry poons brice marden bob neuwirth dan christensen ronnie landfield peter reginato carl andre dan graham lawrence weiner robert smithson joseph kosuth brigid berlin david r. prentice roy lichtenstein peter forakis peter young mark di suvero larry bell donald judd dan flavin richard serra lee lozano robert tex wray carlos villa jack whitten edward leffingwell philip glass max neuhaus ray johnson malcolm morley lotti golden marjorie strider edward avedisian carolee schneemann dorothea rockburne david budd norman bluhm kenneth showell tiger morse colette justine lenore jaffee taylor mead william s. burroughs allen ginsberg ren ricard and marisol were just some of the artists seen regularly at max s. willem de kooning barnett newman art critics lucy lippard robert hughes clement greenberg and harold rosenberg art dealers leo castelli and david whitney whose gallery was across the street 2 and architect philip johnson occasionally would be seen there as well . 3 4 it was also a favorite hangout of andy warhol and his entourage who dominated the back room . the velvet underground played there regularly including their last shows with lou reed before he quit the band in the summer of 1970 . it was a home base for the glam rock scene which included marc bolan david bowie iggy pop lou reed alice cooper the new york dolls wayne county dorian zero and the magic tramps . while her band did not play there until the second incarnation of the club patti smith and her boyfriend artist robert mapplethorpe visited max s almost nightly from 1969 through the early 1970s . smith and guitarist lenny kaye also performed there as a duo on new year s day 1974 opening for phil ochs . 5 many bands made early appearances there . bruce springsteen played a solo acoustic set in the summer of 1972 . 6 he also played sets at the club on november 6th 7th and 8th 1973 . 7 it was the site of aerosmith s first new york city gig . columbia records president clive davis later signed aerosmith to his record label there . 8 bob marley & the wailers opened for bruce springsteen at max s commencing marley s career on the international circuit . tim buckley tom waits bonnie raitt odetta dave van ronk john herald garland jeffreys sylvia tyson emmylou harris gram parsons elliott murphy and country joe were some of the musicians that played there . 9 fashion designer carlos falchi was a busboy 10 as was artist publisher and filmmaker anton perich ; 11 deborah harry was a waitress . by the end of 1974 max s had lost popularity among the art crowd and the glam era was in decline . the legendary establishment closed in december of that year . ed koch later had a campaign office in the building . 12 in 2015 photographer marcia resnick documented the people at max s in her book punks poets and provocateurs new york city bad boys 1977 1982 . mickey ruskin edit shortly after graduating from cornell law school mickey ruskin opened the tenth street coffeehouse which featured nightly poetry readings . he then opened les deux megots on east ninth street . his next endeavor was a bar called the ninth circle steak house a hangout for artists and musicians on west 10th street . after opening max s kansas city he opened similar restaurants including the longview country club 13 later known as levine s restaurant which was on 19th street and park avenue south diagonally across the street from max s 14 and max s terre haute on the upper east side but they did not do as well . his next club was the locale on waverly place that he opened with partner richard sanders . richard kept the locale and mickey went on to the lower manhattan ocean club on chambers street in tribeca . 12 ruskin s last enterprise was chinese chance nicknamed one u a bar and restaurant that he opened with partner richard sanders located at 1 university place in greenwich village . the french composer duncan youngerman and the poet and mail artist adam czarnowski both worked there as busboys . lauren hutton ellen barkin gerard malanga joe jackson joni mitchell nico david bowie and a score of other lower manhattan celebs hung out there as well as the artists that formerly frequented max s and the doormen of the mudd club . 15 ruskin died in new york city on may 16 1983 at the age of 50 . 16 max s ii edit max s kansas city reopened in 1975 under the ownership of tommy dean mills who initially thought he would make it a disco . peter crowley who had been booking the same early punk bands that played at cbgb and mothers a gay bar on west 23rd street was hired to book bands at max s. 17 under crowley s guidance the club became one of the birthplaces of punk regularly featuring bands including cherry vanilla wayne county & the electric chairs the fast suicide who all appeared on the compilation album 1976 max s kansas city 18 the new york dolls patti smith group the ramones the heartbreakers television blondie talking heads sniper the dictators the cramps mink deville misfits little annie the fleshtones the b 52 s the bongos and klaus nomi as well as out of town bands such as the runaways and the damned . after the breakup of the sex pistols sid vicious played many of his solo gigs there . devo played several shows at max s in 1977 19 including a show where they were introduced by david bowie as the band of the future . 20 max s original site closed in november 1981 . bad brains were the headliners on the final night with the beastie boys opening . the building survives and now houses green caf a korean deli . 21 max s iii edit mills reopened the club again on january 27 1998 at a new location 240 west 52nd street site of the former lone star roadhouse . 22 23 however it closed shortly after opening . the opening had been delayed due to litigation by yvonne sewall ruskin who claimed that she owned the trademark to max s kansas city and was granted a temporary restraining order to prevent use of the name . 24 aftermath edit in 2000 acidwork productions inc. a production company founded by neil holstein second cousin of mickey ruskin began working in conjunction with victoria ruskin mickey ruskin s daughter on a feature length documentary about mickey ruskin and his many establishments including max s kansas city . 25 in 2001 yvonne sewall ruskin established the max s kansas city project in memory of her late husband . in the spirit of ruskin s philosophy of helping artists in need the project a 501 c 3 non profit provides emergency funding and resources for individuals in the arts in crisis empowers teens through the arts . 26 further reading edit yvonne sewall ruskin high on rebellion inside the underground at max s kansas city 1998 thunder s mouth press isbn 1 56025 183 2 weinberger tony the max s kansas city stories 1971 bobbs merrill 1971 call number in library of congress ps3573.e393 m3 kasher steven max s kansas city art glamour rock and roll 2010 abrams image isbn 0 8109 9597 2 . see also edit cbgb references edit december 31 max s kansas city retrieved january 1 2012 1 david bourdon life magazine may 1970 whats up in art the castelli clan david whitney gallery and lyrical abstraction retrieved june 9 2010 high on rebellion inside the underground at max s kansas city by yvonne sewall ruskin forward by lou reed thunder s mouth press nyc . 1998 pp. 2 105 portfolio high on rebellion smith patti 2010 . just kids . harper collins publishing . isbn 978 0 06 093622 8 . bruce springsteen at max s retrieved june 12 2010 nyt 11 4 1973 pg .174 ; who makes music & where http www.youtube.com watch v gfkacjcgpys & feature related high on rebellion inside the underground at max s kansas city by yvonne sewall ruskin forward by lou reed thunder s mouth press nyc . 1998 pp. 210 229 cathy hoyrn the return of the king of patchwork the new york times october 29 2009 accessed october 30 2009 . marina galpirina anton perich s photos of cultural icons partying in 70s new york flavorwire july 5th 2011 accessed october 2 2014 . a b hart jon 2003 05 11 . neighborhood report union square ; archetypal host . new york times . retrieved 2008 01 01 . ny magazine 1969 restaurant review retrieved may 3 2010 les levine s restaurant retrieved may 3 2010 yvonne sewall ruskin high on rebellion inside the underground at max s kansas city 1998 thunder s mouth press pp. 246 279 isbn 1 56025 183 2 yvonne sewall ruskin high on rebellion inside the underground at max s kansas city 1998 thunder s mouth press p. 279 isbn 1 56025 183 2 nobakht david 2004 12 15 . suicide no compromise . saf publishing . p. 66 . isbn 0 946719 71 3 . 1976 max s kansas city on discogs . devo live guide 1973 to 1977 . retrieved 2013 06 21 . happy birthday david bowie . 2010 01 09 . retrieved 2013 06 21 . seabrook john 2010 . the back room . the new yorker . cond nast august 30 2010 26 27 . stamler bernard 1997 10 09 . neighborhood report midtown ; downtown moves uptown redux . new york times . retrieved 2008 04 24 . new yorkers & co. . new york times . 1998 01 04 . retrieved 2008 01 01 . digiacomo frank 1997 12 07 . factory kids in an uproar over the whitney s warhol show . the new york observer . retrieved 2008 01 01 . mickey ruskin . retrieved 2008 01 01 . max s kansas city project . retrieved 2008 01 01 . external links edit www.maxskansascity.com official site www.maxskansascity.org max s kansas city project www.acidwork.com mickey ruskin documentary coordinates 40 44 12 n 73 59 19 w 40.73667 n 73.98861 w 40.73667 ; 73.98861 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title max % 27s kansas city & oldid 743358047 categories nightclubs in new york cityformer music venues in new york citypunk rock venuesmusic venues in new york city1965 establishments in new york1981 disestablishments in new yorkhidden categories coordinates on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page 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