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Walk under the iconic marquee of The Penthouse nightclub on Seymour Street and enter the venue. Head up the stairs where you’ll find the main room equipped with poles and booths for exotic dancers – don’t stop there though (at least not tonight). Instead, go up the stairs to another level. Here you’ll come across an unassuming slice of Vancouver’s musical history.
In the corner sits an original baby grand piano from 1939. There is a small stage where go-go dancers performed, along with many local and traveling musicians. A restaurant called the Steak Loft (awesome name) occupied the back.
Sammy Davis Jr. stars here. Nat King Cole. Come Fitzgerald. Billie Holiday. Louis Armstrong. Duke Ellington.
The black and white photographs framed on the walls paint a picture of a place that makes everyone feel welcome – long before that was the norm.
The penthouse itself is a legendary business in Vancouver and appears to be one of the few historic buildings this city has yet to convert to condos. The structure itself dates back to 1939, although The Penthouse as we know it was opened in 1947 by four Filippone brothers: Joe, Ross, Mickey and Jimmy. It quickly became the place for those who liked to have a good time, gathering food, entertainment and (illegal) alcohol under one roof. Famous people like Frank Sinatra and Errol Flynn stopped by when they were in town.
The history of The Penthouse itself is well documented. There is a book: Alcohol, lust and the law, by local historian Aaron Chapman. There’s also a monthly tour, Secrets Of The Penthouse, run by Forbidden Vancouver (it’s a good deal: $70 gets you an hour-long tour led by current Penthouse owner Danny Filippone and Chapman, along with a live jazz show and a comforting spaghetti dinner for Filippone’s mother’s meatballs – plus a free return pass to The Penthouse another night). Grant MacDonald, an ex-cop who raided The Penthouse in the Prohibition days, also often joins.
“I’m pretty sure he was arresting my dad,” Filippone says of McDonald on a recent tour, “and now we’re golf buddies.”
Moments later, Filippone, 60, stood on the small stage of the upstairs theater, holding back tears. His sister is in the audience, he tells the group, and she’s been battling brain cancer for many years, but they recently found out she’s in remission. The assembled guests burst into applause as the jazz orchestra begins to play.
Today’s Penthouse is indeed a strip club, but it’s still a music venue and perhaps the city’s most brilliant hidden gem. Comfortable for around 50 people, the space, called Tyrant Studios, is run by Daniel Deorksen of the Seven Tyrants Theater Society. It’s modest in decor, but has a full-service bar in the back — and somehow the acoustics are incredible. Curated live shows – a mix of music, dance and comedy – happen here most Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, breathing new life into the space while nodding to its historic heritage.
“It could be the low ceilings, it could be the carpet,” Deorksen says of the space’s crystal-clear musical sound. “I haven’t quite figured it out yet.”
Maybe it’s one of those things. Or maybe there’s just some ghostly magic here left over from the glory days. In the end, it doesn’t really matter; what matters is that the place is still going strong in a city that likes to reject its past.
The next one Secrets of the Penthouse the tour takes place on March 13. Tyrant Studios hosts shows every weekend; see current listings here.
