Fads come and go, but some trends are so ubiquitous they can almost define a generation. When we think of the 1950s, images of classic cars, jukeboxes, and rock and roll come to mind. The 1960s brought us the Beatles, then hippies and Woodstock. The 1970s brought us disco.
The Sault did not escape its allure. Tiffany’s in the Windsor Park Hotel was the first discotheque in the city. It opened in November 1976 and featured a large dance floor, high-end sound equipment, light shows, and professional DJs brought in from Europe playing the latest music from ‘sophisticated’ big cities like New York.
The creation of the club was entrusted to a company called Juliana’s which was well known for establishing the top dance clubs in the world. The first DJ was Christel Mesnard who was born in France. Before coming to the Sault she had just finished establishing the first disco in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. The cultural and temperature differences must have been quite a shock when she arrived, but her expertise helped propel Tiffany’s success.
However, as Windsor Park Hotel owner Gene Nori apprised the Sault Star, “It really took Saturday Night Fever to get the disco scene going in Sault Ste. Marie. Now our business is steady all week.”
The Sault Star reported in a review of the movie in December 1977 that those who frequented discos might be offended by how they were characterized in the film – “Saturday Night Fever advises us that people who go to discotheques don’t just go there for innocent fun and company. They go there to pick up or be picked up, get high on drugs and alcohol, practice their foul language vocabulary, and generally be as uncompassionate as possible to those around them.”
The movie had the exact opposite effect, with people coming out in droves to dance the night away.
1978 saw the peak of disco fever with three discos in the city operating six nights a week, and one club playing disco tunes three nights a week.
Jim Hilsinger’s club in the Water Tower Inn decided to try disco in 1978 instead of live music. He told the Sault Star, “We just can’t make money on bands. People aren’t coming in because they don’t want to pay cover charges and they don’t want to pay more for drinks, which is what we have to have to pay for the band.”
The disco didn’t just attract people with music. It was also the opportunity to see and be seen. Fashion was a huge part of the disco craze.
Tiffany’s, hoping to draw an upscale clientele, clearly stated in its advertisements that, “management requests appropriate dress for admission.” Helping patrons with their fashion needs was the retailer “Wildflowers“, owned by Rob and Sue Cuerrier who produced disco fashion shows at Tiffany’s. Disco music would play while models danced in trendy outfits. Styles at the time included pants tucked into high boots or rolled up below the knee. For a more upscale chic look, women wore shirts with poufy bow ties.
The disco craze faded away, and with it, Tiffany’s. Its trademark Tiffany lampshade logo, may to some Sault residents, be more of a reminder of the 70’s nightlife than a disco ball!