Ice Palace 57 NYC Gay Disco T-Shirt | Vintage 1977–1985 Nightclub Tee

Ice Palace 57 NYC Gay Disco T-Shirt | Vintage 1977–1985 Nightclub Tee

Step beneath the streets of Midtown Manhattan and into one of New York’s defining gay discos.

Ice Palace 57 opened in 1977 at 57 West 57th Street, just off Sixth Avenue. Created by nightlife impresario Jimmy Merry, who was also associated with the celebrated Ice Palace in Cherry Grove, the Manhattan club became an important destination during the height of New York’s disco era. Its location placed an openly gay nightclub near some of the city’s most prestigious shops, hotels, and cultural institutions.

Guests descended a flight of stairs into a subterranean space built around music, movement, mirrors, and light. Historical accounts describe a large central dance floor surrounded by mirrored walls, lounge seating, multiple bars, and an enclosed DJ booth. Its elaborate lighting system reflected across the interior’s Mylar and mirrored surfaces, creating the architectural spectacle suggested by the club’s distinctive geometric logo.

Ice Palace 57 was especially celebrated for its Sunday Tea Dances, when lines could extend along West 57th Street. Its musical identity was shaped by DJs including Frank Houlihan, Roy Thode, Robbie Leslie, Sharon White, René Hewitt, and Bacho Mangual. A surviving advertisement also documents midnight dance contests, afternoon Tea, nightly admission prices, and drink-inclusive cover charges. The Manhattan club operated until approximately 1985, when the location became the Silver Shadow. Fire Island & Pines Historical Society, Disco-Disco nightclub archive

Created for the Walt & Pete® Recovered Artifacts Collection, this shirt is based on two surviving pieces of Ice Palace 57 ephemera: its original geometric logo and a serialized Globe Ticket Company drink ticket. The artwork has been carefully adapted for dark garments while retaining the character of late-1970s ticket printing and nightclub graphics.

Front Design

The front features the restored Ice Palace 57 geometric emblem, rendered in warm antique cream and muted ochre so its architectural linework remains visible on dark fabric.

Beneath the emblem are two pieces of historical documentation:

EST. 1977

57 WEST 57TH STREET · NEW YORK

The centered composition is restrained and balanced, giving the design the character of an original club staff or promotional shirt rather than modern souvenir merchandise.

Back Design

The back presents an enlarged reconstruction of a surviving Ice Palace 57 drink ticket. It preserves:

• The original geometric club emblem 
• Aged ochre ticket stock 
• Mechanical serial numbers 
• Globe Ticket Company printer identification 
• Uneven black ink and period printing texture 
• Worn paper edges inspired by the surviving artifact 
• The historical address beneath the ticket 

The opaque ochre ticket is isolated against the shirt without a surrounding rectangular background, allowing it to read as a physical artifact laid directly across the garment.

Why You’ll Love It

• Preserves the history of a significant Manhattan gay disco 
• Based on authentic Ice Palace 57 printed ephemera 
• Includes the documented founding year and historical address 
• Designed specifically for black and other dark-colored shirts 
• Features coordinated front-and-back artwork 
• Uses a restrained, historically informed late-1970s palette 
• Created for collectors of LGBTQ+ history and vintage nightlife culture 
• Designed to feel like a recovered club original—not a souvenir 

Part of the Walt & Pete® archive of forgotten LGBTQ+ places, people, and stories.

Walt & Pete® — Forgotten Moments, Forever Remembered.

Product Features

• Soft cotton or cotton-blend fabric 
• High-quality DTG printed front and back graphics 
• Unisex modern fit 
• Breathable everyday comfort 
• Durable long-lasting print 

EU representative: HONSON VENTURES LIMITED, gpsr@honsonventures.com, 3, Gnaftis House flat 102, Limassol, Mesa Geitonia, 4003, CY

Product information: Gildan 5000, 2-year warranty in the EU and Northern Ireland as per Directive 1999/44/EC

Warnings, Hazard: For adults, Made in Nicaragua

Care instructions: Machine wash: cold (max 30C or 90F), Non-chlorine: bleach as needed, Tumble dry: low heat, Do not iron, Do not dry clean