From The New York Times, August 14, 1994
One of the newer, more playful entrants in New York's nocturnal range wars can be found in the farthest industrial reaches of Chelsea. First-time visitors to Velvet, a former brewery at 608 West 26th Street, near the corner of 11th Avenue, may have to look carefully for the club's dimly lighted entrance. Once past the hulking door-men, however, they find themselves ensconced in a surprisingly benign world.
Since opening in April, the club, owned by Joe Schaefer, has changed themes weekly. One recent Saturday (Velvet is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights), the motif was Carnival. This concept was realized with contraptions like a dunk-the-party-promoter machine and a 25-by-25-foot pool filled with styrofoam packing material. Future themes are to include the wide world of sports, casinos, and the wild, wild West.
"I try to create an environment in which people can let go safely," said Natalie Jones, Velvet's director, as she surveyed her festive domain. The downtown perennial known as Danny the Wonder Pony trotted by, a saddle around his waist and a woman astride his shoulders, cheering him on.
The main action took place, as always, on the capacious dance floor, where a diverse crowd of some 500 straight and gay party-goers, from their early 20s to early 30'5, gyrated to house music. Others relaxed amid the faded glory of the lounges, one on each floor. the club's interior, which Ms. Jones described as "Salvation Armani," is the inspiration of Christiana Rangel, a Brazilian interior decorator, singer, and dancer, who is also, Velvet's bar manager.
“What I like about this place is that it has no pre-tension," said Allison Joseph, a recent Vassar College graduate and a model. "It's a good place to drop your attitude," she added, as her boyfriend, Brady Brook, an artist from Colorado, boogied nearby. Whereupon the couple dove headlong into the pool.
Cabs are readily available on 11th Avenue for the return trip to planet Earth.