The “Art of Nightlife” is finally returning to Cambridge after nearly two decades of dormancy.
ManRay, the legendary alternative underground nightclub in Central Square, is set to re-open at its new location of 40 Prospect St. on Wednesday, January 18. The venue’s new home is the former ImprovBoston comedy club, a short walk from its original location on Brookline Street.
The club’s longtime resident DJ Chris Ewen, part of a trio of operators that includes beloved bartender Terri Niedzwiecki and owner Don Holland, confirmed the opening to Vanyaland this afternoon. Holland secured the space in 2021, and since then the room has undergone significant renovations and construction to recreate its very specific environment.
“We’re going to try and bring back the original vibe the best we can,” Ewen says. “The people who used to go to ManRay can expect that same vibe. We’re gonna try to show people what we’re all about.”
The old ManRay spot first opened in 1983 and was an iconic piece of Boston alternative nightlife, hosting various themed nights and parties — as well as live performances by the likes of Nirvana, Wolfsheim, VNV Nation, and others — before shuttering in 2005. It was mostly known for its spectrum of underground dance nights and cult-like following, as well as being a safe haven for art and creativity away from mainstream attention. In late 2021, local writer Shawn Driscoll penned a well-received book on its storied legacy, titled We Are But Your Children: An Oral History of the Nightclub ManRay.
Rumors of ManRay’s resurrection have long been a hot topic around the city, and seem to have started not long after the original club first closed. In the time since, Ewen and Niedzwiecki remained active in the underground scene, hosting recurring parties over the past decade-plus around Cambridge, and special ManRay events at the Paradise Rock Club.
Connecting the new ManRay to its former life, the Prospect Street venue will follow a similar weekly schedule from Wednesday to Saturday, with a nightly curfew of 2 a.m. and an age policy of 19-plus at the door. Wednesday resurrects the goth and industrial party Crypt; Thursday revisits the Campus gay night; Friday returns its fetish-themed industrial night with Chrome; and Saturday celebrates Heroes, Ewen’s new wave, ’80s, and electro party that was previously held at nearby Sonia.
Ewen will be venue’s resident DJ, but expects to open the specifically-built DJ booth to others in order to keep the vibes fresh. “Since we’re just one room, as opposed to two [in the former location], we’re gonna try things out and mix it up a bit.”
That also includes hosting live music, with a built-in stage that can cater to bands and artists. But Ewen stresses that the live music component will happen only when it makes sense, for special occasions, and ManRay will operate mostly as a nightclub. “We have great sound and great lights, so we can have bands,” he says. “The sound system is so powerful and so amazing.”
Ewen notes that he and the ManRay team will be keeping an open mind as things progress, but right now he’s excited to re-open and re-launch a room that was so personal to him for more than two decades. And he’s thrilled to be able to do it in a proper nightclub, at a time when lots of creative spaces for the arts are struggling to stay open. “Everything is closing — real estate is more valuable as something other than a nightclub,” he notes. “The club vibe doesn’t have a chance to flourish in the city anymore.”
Starting this month, that may soon change.
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