By Lauren Borromeo
Downtown Bloomington

After laying down a tip, she grabs her over-filled cranberry and vodka drink and heads away from the bar.  She spots her friends, takes a deep breath of the perfume and smoke-saturated air and embarks upon her journey towards the stage.  As she navigates her way through the ebullient crowd, she performs a familiar dance of balance and agility.  She slides and turns to avoid spilling her drink and getting burned by cigarettes.  Her dance comes to an end as she nears her friends. As the lights cast shades of blues and reds onto her face, she takes a sip of the tart red concoction.  Her ears fill with the sound of music, persuading her body to move with the beat.  She smiles and thinks, "Now this is what college is all about!"

For many students, among thousands of universities and over numerous years, this is a familiar scene.  For the students of Indiana University, this scene is created at the Bluebird. Opening its doors over three decades ago, the Bluebird has witnessed the opening and closing of surrounding bars and has overcome its own adversity in the ever-changing ebb of university nightlife to become a staple of the IU and Bloomington social scene.

Photo by Lauren Borromeo

The glow of "the Bird" lights up the night in front of 216 N. Walnut St. Over the years, the Bluebird has become easily recognizable by this small, neon bird logo displayed in the front window.

A brief historical overview

Before becoming the Bluebird, the building at 216 N. Walnut housed many different businesses. Beginning in 1916 as Foster & Hudelson harness manufacturers, the location has since changed from cab companies to electrical companies to various lounge/tavern venues.

The doors of the Bluebird opened in 1973.  John Ross, brother of the current owner Steve Ross, bought the club and changed the name from Your Lounge to the Bluebird, after a soda shop in his hometown of Washington, Ind.  While John Ross was the owner, the Bluebird was a jazz music bar with only a small amount of mainstream rock. 

When Steve Ross bought the club in 1981, the music focus changed to keep pace with popular tastes.  The Bluebird became the home of college-oriented music hosting bands such as the Grateful Dead, Phish and The String Cheese Incident.  Legendary acts such as Dizzy Gillespie, Steve Earle and John Lee Hooker have also played at the intimate Bloomington venue.  One of the most memorable evenings at the Bluebird involved John Mellencamp showing up with his pals Lou Reed and John Prine to play a pre-Farm Aid warm up show.

"The history of the Bluebird is great.  Some legendary people have played here, and to see them play in such a small place, those are nights people never forget," said manager Dave Kubiak.
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The Bird faces difficulties

However, the Bluebird has had its fair share of tribulations.  In March of 1989, Vanassa Coy sued the Bluebird in the Monroe Superior Court.  Coy claimed that she suffered unspecified injuries when she was seated in the bar and "an individual came lunging across the table knocking her backwards and violently to the floor."  She charged the nightclub with failing to provide adequate security, not restricting the actions and activities of its patrons, not limiting the amount of alcohol consumed by patrons, failing to limit the number of people on the premises and not maintaining open aisles.  This was one of the first obstacles the Bluebird encountered, but it did not close the club's doors.

An event in the Bluebird's history that did threaten to close the club's doors was the firing of longtime bartender, Gerry Thorne.  In July of 1990, Steve Ross and co-owner Dennis Burris fired the bartender who had worked at the club since it opened.  Thorne had been serving drinks during the Bluebird's happy hour, appropriately named Gerry's Happy Hour, for 17 years and had built up a large customer base.  When loyal patrons heard of Gerry's firing, a crowd of people armed with boycott signs set up camp outside the door of the Bluebird.  At least two out of every three would-be patrons walked past the Bluebird's door.  This diversion of patrons certainly did not help the bar, especially since Ross and Burris cited the reason for Gerry's firing as dwindling afternoon attendance and sales.  It appeared that the Bluebird was not as financially sound as they had hoped.  Yet again, with a few changes to the opening hours, the club doors remained open. 

Today, business is better than ever.  In June of 2001, the club expanded into the former location of Opie Taylor's hamburger shop. 

"The increased capacity might allow the club to book larger national touring bands," Kubiak said, "but the immediate concern is traffic flow." 

The Bluebird has become one of the top musical venues in Bloomington thanks to its rich history, intimate environment and odd-shaped corner stage.  If we can learn from history, the Bluebird will remain a prominent Bloomington nightclub that will host the dance of balance and agility for years to come.
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