{"id":8959,"date":"2018-07-03T15:36:52","date_gmt":"2018-07-03T19:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=8959"},"modified":"2018-07-06T11:43:44","modified_gmt":"2018-07-06T15:43:44","slug":"the-brief-and-troublesome-life-of-club-51","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/07\/03\/the-brief-and-troublesome-life-of-club-51\/","title":{"rendered":"The brief and troublesome life of Club 51"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a combination that\u2019s guaranteed to sow chaos: teens, nightclubs and suburban Pennsylvania. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Club 51, Brentwood, February, 1994. (Bill Wade\/Post-Gazette)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Believe it or not, this nightmare trio assembled in two Pittsburgh-area suburbs about 25 years ago. What started as a wholesome enterprise at a Brentwood shopping center turned into a three-year saga of parental hand-wringing: This is the story of Club 51. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe the teen hotspot, a non-alcoholic nightclub designed for the under-21 crowd, was fated for a downfall. In the months leading up to the opening of Club 51 at the Brentwood Whitehall Shopping Center, residents circulated petitions and flooded local council meetings to protest. Mayor James Joyce denied the club its license and building permit because it would operate less than 500 feet from a residential area.<\/span><\/p>\n

But a decision from an Allegheny County Common Pleas Court changed everything. Judge James McLean overturned the mayor\u2019s decision to withhold the license and permit because the borough had not proven that the that Club 51 would pose a danger to the community. <\/span><\/p>\n

So Club 51 opened its doors in May 1993 \u2014 and more than 200 adolescents showed up.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette\u2019s Club 51 action shots will feel familiar to anyone who has attended a high school dance. Teenage girls awkwardly dance in groups; teenage boys awkwardly stand around watching them. Sweat-slicked hair and oily faces flash in the spotlight. And a lot of attendees are wearing vests, for some reason.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Club <\/a>
Club 51, Brentwood, February, 1994. (Bill Wade\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Club <\/a>
Club 51, Brentwood, February, 1994. (Bill Wade\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The club opened without inspection for fire hazards, as Vanessa Knotter, a worried Whitehall parent, emphasized in the Post-Gazette\u2019s opinion pages. <\/span><\/p>\n

“Teens need a supervised place to hang out, and for many Club 51 is the answer,\u201d Ms. Knotter wrote. \u201cMy daughters will not be going there, however. I am concerned for their safety.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The complaints piled up: noise, criminal mischief, public urination. In a rebuttal to Club 51\u2019s detractors, Jennifer Wine, a loyal patron of the establishment, argued that the club kept kids from getting in more serious trouble. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do they want us back on the streets?\u201d asked the 16-year-old from Carrick. “I feel that if there was no such thing as Club 51, many people would be hanging on street corners and committing more severe crimes than making a little noise.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Brentwood Council shuttered the beloved hangout within two years. And like a phoenix that rose from the ashes and promptly collapsed into flames again, Club 51 attempted to reopen in June 1995, this time at the Towne Fair family recreation center in Mt. Lebanon. <\/span><\/p>\n

Local parents were concerned, to say the least.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jim <\/a>
Jim Smith, one of hundreds of people at a township meeting about the contentious opening of Club 51, an under-21 party space. (Annie O\u2019Neill\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Bill <\/a>
Bill Diffenderfer, a Mt. Lebanon resident, expressed concerns about teenagers from the “inner city” coming to the under-21 club. (Annie O\u2019Neill\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The township obtained an injunction that required Donald Palmieri, owner of the Towne Fair facility, to apply for a new occupancy permit. The Post-Gazette documented the thwarted opening of Club 51 on June 9, 1995. Policemen stood by the door. One teenage patron from Carrick, whose mother dropped her and two friends at Towne Fair, peeked into the window to find the club dark and empty. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A <\/a>
A disappointed would-be patron peers in the window of Club 51. (John Heller\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Police <\/a>
Police stand guard at Club 51. (John Heller\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Responding to some residents\u2019 concerns that youths from the \u201cinner city\u201d would come dance at Club 51, Palmieri argued that the controversy was<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Young women enjoying a night at an under-21 club, 1995. (Annie O\u2019Neill\/Post-Gazette)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMt. Lebanon\u2019s racial issue.\u201d He called his opponents \u201ca lynch mob.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

While the new permit application was pending, Mr. Palmieri held smaller-scale under-21 dances on the second floor of the building, dubbing this alternative spot \u201cClub Grind.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In true \u201cFootloose\u201d fashion, township officials decided that these dances violated the original conditional permit issued to Towne Fair in 1993. Mr. Palmieri hosted his last dance on April 6, 1996. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe never did anything wrong,\u201d Mr. Palmieri told the Post-Gazette after a two-day contempt hearing. To the chagrin of Mt. Lebanon officials, Judge Maclean refused to hold him in contempt of court for hosting the parties. \u201cIn fact, we did a lot right for the benefit of the kids.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a combination that\u2019s guaranteed to sow chaos: teens, nightclubs and suburban Pennsylvania. Believe it…<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesThe brief and troublesome life of Club 51<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":8963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[946],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/img1-e1530645261362.jpg?fit=2846%2C1361&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1858,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/04\/22\/antique-cars-of-pennsylvania\/","url_meta":{"origin":8959,"position":0},"title":"Antique Cars of Pennsylvania","date":"April 22, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The antique era in auto history covered the period from 1895 to 1920.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/tumblr_mlitvy4ftV1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C809&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2518,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/09\/14\/oct-27-1952-ikes-balloon-grounded-general\/","url_meta":{"origin":8959,"position":1},"title":"Ike\u2019s balloon grounded in Pittsburgh","date":"September 14, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"\"Members of the Citizens for Eisenhower Committee said their silver-colored gas bag ordinarily is flown at 500 feet.\u201d","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/tumblr_ma9gdziEdx1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C978&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1949,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/03\/20\/celebrating-springs-arrival-in-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":8959,"position":2},"title":"Celebrating spring\u2019s arrival in Pittsburgh","date":"March 20, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"According to the calendar, today, March 20, 2013, is the first official day of spring.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/tumblr_mjxtck8WXd1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=793%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9320,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2019\/01\/18\/pittsburgh-snow-old-photos-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":8959,"position":3},"title":"Stuck cars and snow angels: Photos of past Pittsburgh snow storms","date":"January 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Pittsburghers have enjoyed an unusually\u00a0mild winter so far this year. 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