The best nightclub ever to sit on the western banks of the Mississippi River is now closed. The month of October marked the 10 year anniversary of Velvet, the standard for nightclubs in the Midwest. Unfortunately, their 10 year anniversary party would also be their swan song.

Washington Ave in St. Louis is now a bustling residential neighborhood with thousands of loft apartments and condominiums. Commercial properties are changing from nightclubs and warehouses to eateries and coffee houses and bookstores. Velvet, one of the original clubs on Washington in the very early days of the renovations, remained in the space as long as they could. But for a business that is only open from 9 pm - 3 am on Friday and Saturday nights, it's hard to pay the ever increasing rent. Ironically, the nightclub industry on Washington was one of the major factors in the area's turnaround.

Alas, I never got the chance to visit one last time and relive the great memories of the space. For those of you who shared in those, I thank thee. You'd better never forget them. Even those of you who didn't like "that type of music" or "this kind of bar", I know most of you had fun there, and held Velvet to a higher standard than the rest of the clubs.

For those of you who never got the chance to experience the best nightclub in the Midwest, visit their website while it is still operational, put on Mix 3 (on the radio player in the upper right), and go browse the sight and check out some of the picture galleries. The best music, best DJ's, best lights, best sound, best atmosphere, some of the coolest "club" people around, and always lots of fun. It's too bad you missed out. Farewell Velvet.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 1:47 PM