Chatting With Mansion's Mark Baker:

"You Know, Everyone Thought I Was Ridiculous to Open a Club the Size of Mansion"

On the eve of the powerHouse "Gotta Have It" party at haute mega-club Mansion, we got to thinking that we should know more about this venue (housed in the former Crobar space on 28th St.) that opened earlier this year. So we got owner (and nightlife legend) Mark Baker on the line and asked him a bunch of a questions -- and he kindly answered! This is the first in a series of PAPERMAG interviews with various players in the NY nightlife scene.

With Mansion, you decided to transplant a Miami club to New York –- what are some of the main differences between the Miami and New York nightlife scenes?
Actually, we didn’t transplant a Miami club to New York. I partnered with Eric Milon at The Opium Group to build a New York club for the New York crowd -– even though the club is an arm of The Opium Group, it’s a New York City institution. You have to keep in mind that Miami is a Holiday destination… New York is not. In New York we have to get up and go to work in the morning… and not go to the beach. This means that there is a very different style of partying; Mansion New York caters to a New York clientele.

You are often referred to as the “godfather of New York nightlife” –- why do you think that is?
Godfather…or Grandfather? I guess I have just been around longer than everyone else. I have been doing it for a long time and I am still going at it. It’s unbelievable really. I started working in New York clubs 25 years ago and I’m still here. Because of this, when I travel internationally, I really see myself as an ambassador of New York nightlife.

What does a typical night at Mansion entail?
Wow. Typical? A typical night would include great music, wild entertainment, the sexiest dancers in New York (both female and male), as well as some unusual entertainment. We have had gospel choirs, opera singers, aerial artists a la Cirque du Soleil and other performances. And of course Rock and Roll.

A library in a nightclub!! Tell me about the powerHouse Library at Mansion.
The whole idea with Mansion was to go back to the 1980s and 1990s. Back then, New York clubs were social epicenters where the fashion, art, and entertainment worlds converged. Clubs like Palladium had a lot going on. Mansion is about a cultural mix…that’s why we have a library and gallery. powerHouse does book launches regularly and it has been really successful. It’s important to remember that clubs should not be just a ballroom for dancing – they should be so much more.

Oh, and tell me about The Boudoir…
My partner’s wife had suggested that Mansion add a sexy lounge for girls only. A place where they could relax and drink champagne, get their hair touched up and just be pampered. We are also looking forward to working with Betony Vernon on providing monthly sex-ed classes for adventuresome couples!

What are your thoughts on the future of New York nightlife?
I have to be honest –- New York is pretty lame right now. Compared to Moscow or San Paulo, New York just doesn’t have the edge that it used to. Don’t get me wrong, New York is still the greatest and most diverse city in the world. It’s just that the nightlife industry has been under attack for so long. To get anything built on a large scale is next to impossible and the really creative minds just aren’t doing it anymore. Club owners have forgotten about fun and only pay attention to financial formulas now -– there is no thought or creative energy in the way there used to be. And it’s sad because this is not representative of the New York spirit. You know, everyone thought I was ridiculous to open a club the size of Mansion -– but its works incredibly well –- it’s what people really want.

What is the best party you ever attended?
Ohh…that’s tough. I would have to say that Haunted House party on the Lower East Side a few years ago. It was outrageous; a bandstand and over two thousand people -– I was completely in my element. Then there was the first “Trip on a Ship” on the Intrepid –- completely outrageous: four thousand people with a DJ in the control tower… people were actually trying to climb up the anchor chain to get in!

What are some upcoming events at Mansion that PAPERMAG readers should know about?
Well…hopefully we will be partnering with Paper for a great party! You know, we have great stuff all the time –- Donna Summer was just here and that was lots of fun. We are preparing a lot of stuff for the upcoming Fashion Week. New York Fashion Week will be very hectic –- I’m looking forward to it. Oh…and we are very excited about having DJ David Guetta at Mansion in the near future.

What are your summer plans?
I’m going to try to get to Bali in August for a couple of weeks in order to get some spiritual cleansing. I will also be going to Moscow and Siberia for a big party in late August that will be a lot of fun.

Mansion New York
530 W. 28th St.
(212) 604-9074

Mark Baker pictured above with designer Jeremy Scott at the club's opening night party