Construction costs totaled $4.6 million in comparison to the $400,000 cost to open Studio 54 in 1977. Mailman intended it to be a viewing deck to look down upon the dance floor, but, instead, it became a main area for sexual activity. The dance floor was located on an independent table with its own support system that was set twenty feet into the ground on rubber pads to soften the surface for dancing. Overhead was a hatch that would lower a mirrored ball.
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A star projector, known as “the tree of light,” rose from the center with about 1,500 fixtures to create various light shows, including scenes of a nighttime sky, sunrise, or the cosmos. Working from Mailman’s vision, Terrel designed a futuristic, elevated, 4,800-square-foot circular dance floor topped by an aluminum domed ceiling that served as a theatrical scrim hiding nearly 500 speakers. Soon after opening, The Saint became the apotheosis of the underground dance world in New York City, its name, inspired in part, from the nearby New St. Mailman purchased the abandoned proscenium theater because it could accommodate his vision of a multi-level extravagant club, including a planetarium, which became The Saint’s trademark.
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The space had been vacant for a number of years, when, in the late 1970s, entrepreneur Bruce Mailman partnered with designer Charles Terrel to develop and create The Saint. From 1968 to 1971, the space was home to the legendary Fillmore East Music Hall (often referred to as the Fillmore East), which was considered the best showcase for rock music in New York City. Opened in 1926 as a cinema called the Commodore Theater, the building became the Village Theater in 1963, offering burlesque, Yiddish vaudeville, Off-Broadway productions, and live music events.