The Limelight Marketplace: Old stomping ground begins anew

On a cold January Friday night, a group of my girlfriends and I stood in line to go dancing in one of our favorite clubs. The line was long, the night was cold, but none of us wore our coats, exposing our low-cut outfits that so well complimented our figures and killer boots. We smiled at the bouncer standing on the other side of the velvet rope and waited to be noticed, giving each other high fives each time we succeeded before paying our $20 entry fee.

Entry to this club led to endless hours of dancing, flirting, laughter and fun. Even though I didn’t do drugs and wasn’t much of a drinker, even though during the day I was a studious college girl and a hardworking receptionist, at night, in this club, notorious more for being in a church and for the trouble its bad boys brought, I felt young, free, and a bit of a bad girl myself, if only by association, if only for a few hours.

This was The Limelight, and I was in my twenties. Now, at almost 40, married, and with 3 kids the last thing I ever imagined I would do was walk into The Limelight again. Except this 19-century church turned club has gone through another revival. This time as a marketplace. It seems that, like me,The Limelight has grown up.

Walk to 20th St. and 6th Avenue today and you will find The Limelight Marketplace, a collection of sophisticated shops and eateries that appeal more to the Hipster then the Rebel. The Limelight is brighter now and the new owners have chipped away at the new to expose the beauty of the old, revealing it’s original limestone surfaces and previously hidden stained-glass windows.

Rarely does a place you enjoyed in your younger days grow up so beautifully. As I strolled across its sleek floors, past the smell of scented candles, high-end candy shops, and fine leather goods, I could still remember those days of my much younger self and all the fun I had there. However, despite the smile on my face as I remembered the fun in the mischief of those times, I couldn’t help but to acknowledge that in fact, right now, this felt so much nicer.

Limelight Marketplace, 656 Avenue of the Americas (20th Street), (212) 226-7585, opening May 7 at 2, and then Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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Tags: shops
Posted in Cool Finds, Latest Adventure | 8 Comments »