In the '70s and '80s the club became a hangout for "a new breed of politicized drag performers" like Lypsinka, Lady Bunny, and RuPaul, whose first New York City show was at the Pyramid Club in 1982.[3]
In 2007, it was proposed that 101 Avenue A, the Pyramid Club's building, be landmarked. The proposal, described as the first drag landmark, was not adopted by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC).[15] However, in the spring of 2011 the LPC proposed a new historic district in the East Village focused around lower Second Avenue and encompassing 15 blocks and 330 buildings. The original proposal excluded buildings such as the Pyramid Club, but because of efforts made by local community groups, the proposed district was expanded to 101 Avenue A as well as other similar buildings. The LPC designated the club as part of the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District on October 9, 2012.[16]
The club shut during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It unsuccessfully reopened under different management for a short period after, but subsequently closed permanently. The new owners confirmed that it would reopen in the summer of 2023 as Baker Falls, a community-driven rock club.[17] Baker Falls opened in July 2023.[18]
In 2024, a book on the history of the Pyramid Club called "We Started a Nightclub": The Birth of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge as Told by Those Who Lived It was published by Damiani Books.
^Hager, Steve. Art After Midnight: The East Village Scene. St. Matins Press, 1986. p. 150
^Brian Butterick, Susan Martin, Kestutis Nakas (eds.) "We Started a Nightclub": The Birth of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge as Told by Those Who Lived It, Damiani Books, p. 18
^Brian Butterick, Susan Martin, Kestutis Nakas (eds.) "We Started a Nightclub": The Birth of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge as Told by Those Who Lived It, Damiani Books, p.201
^Brian Butterick, Susan Martin, Kestutis Nakas (eds.) "We Started a Nightclub": The Birth of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge as Told by Those Who Lived It, Damiani Books, p.358 & 360
^Brian Butterick, Susan Martin, Kestutis Nakas (eds.) "We Started a Nightclub": The Birth of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge as Told by Those Who Lived It, Damiani Books, p.128
^Brian Butterick, Susan Martin, Kestutis Nakas (eds.) "We Started a Nightclub": The Birth of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge as Told by Those Who Lived It, Damiani Books, p. 75
^Brian Butterick, Susan Martin, Kestutis Nakas (eds.) "We Started a Nightclub": The Birth of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge as Told by Those Who Lived It, Damiani Books, p. 97
^Brian Butterick, Susan Martin, Kestutis Nakas (eds.) "We Started a Nightclub": The Birth of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge as Told by Those Who Lived It, Damiani Books, p. 17
^Brian Butterick, Susan Martin, Kestutis Nakas (eds.) "We Started a Nightclub": The Birth of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge as Told by Those Who Lived It, Damiani Books, p. 18
^[1] John Jesurun's Chang In A Void Moon: Episodes 62-66