As disco swept America during the 1970s, Robert Williams opened The Warehouse, a club that would take some of its beats and lots of its energy to spark a new form of dance music that would become known as house. Williams, who moved to Chicago from New York in 1972, opened a series of spaces that could stay open late because they did not serve alcohol (so became known as “juice bars”). He opened The Warehouse in 1976 and the next year hired another former New Yorker named Frankie Knuckles to DJ. Frankie Knuckles created a distinctive sound through mixing in and editing experimental New Wave records with soul and disco tracks. A local record store started selling records with the tagline “as heard at The Warehouse,” which became simplified as “house.” The club closed shortly after Knuckles left in 1982. But along with the music, The Warehouse is also fondly remembered as a place where everyone—black, white, straight, gay—could all dance together.

– A.C. 

Caption: Former location of the Warehouse.