Max's Kansas City, located at 213 Park Avenue in Lower Manhattan, was one of the most famous rock clubs in America. It was established in 1965 Mickey Ruskin, a Cornell Law School graduate who went on to become a successful restauranteur.
As for Max's, it quickly became a hangout for alternative, underground, and avant gard artists, poets, and musicians.Β It was also a favorite hangout ofΒ Andy WarholΒ and hisΒ entourage, who dominated the back room.Β The Velvet UndergroundΒ played there regularly, including their last shows withΒ Lou ReedΒ before he quit the band, in the summer of 1970. It was also a home base for theΒ glam rockΒ scene of the 1970s, which includedΒ Marc Bolan,Β David Bowie,Β Iggy Pop, Lou Reed post-Velvet Underground,Β Alice Cooper, and theΒ New York Dolls. The club closed in 1981.Β