Legendary Danbury, CT Live Music Venue Tuxedo Junction Demolished [Photos]

End of an era as former Tuxedo Junction building comes down in Danbury.

Tuxedo Juncion was a 600-capacity live music venue located at 2 Ives Street in Danbury, Connecticut. Ron and Rick Jowdy founded the club in 1985, and sold it in 1998 to Michael Roviello and Al Caccamo, who closed it in 2013. Tuxedo Junction hosted many big-name acts such as Joan Jett, 311, Kansas, 38 Special, Blue Oyster Cult, Mercyful Fate and Oasis among others.

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I remember during the 90's and 2000's, on any given weekend at Tuxedo Junction you could see area "party rock" bands like The Zoo and The Nerds playing to packed crowds of college kids. It was always a short drive just over the Connecticut line to get out to Tuxedo's, and it was worth every minute of it.

I also remember seeing many national acts at Tuxedo Junction over the years. One fond memory I had was seeing Quiet Riot in concert and getting to meet frontman Kevin DuBrow. This young kid was super excited that night to meet the singer of one his favorite bands growing up.

Then there was the time I met Vanilla Ice, and was photographed throwing up gang signs with the popular 90's rapper. At the time Vanilla Ice had been in a Nu metal phase, having just released the metal album Hard to Swallow featuring a metal version of his hit "Ice Ice Baby".

Other memorable shows for me personally included Type O Negative with Life of Agony and alternative rock band Superdrag.

Although Tuxedo Junction offciially closed its doors just over 10 years ago in 2013, the buliding at 2 Ives St. in Danbury had remained standing all these years. That was until last week when it was demolished.

Danbury, Ct's newstimes reports that a demolition crew tore away at the storied former live music venue Tuxedo Junction and the old YMCA building on Main Street last week to clear the downtown corner for a $20 million headquarters for Ives Bank.

“Ives Bank, formerly Savings Bank of Danbury, is the oldest continuously operating business in the city of Danbury, and with a 175-year history and deep roots in the community, we intend to keep our headquarters here in Danbury,” said Martin Morgado, president and CEO of Ives Bank, in a prepared statement. “Today marks an exciting milestone for us as we embark on the next phase of our Main Street project.”

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The highest-profile commercial development in downtown Danbury’s Main Street corridor since developer Dan Bertram completed a 149-unit apartment building two blocks south in 2023 involves demolition of the former YMCA building at the corner of Main and White streets as well as a next-door insurance building and the empty Tuxedo Junction kitty-corner on Post Office Plaza, is expected to take 14-to-18 months to complete once the site is cleared.

Demolition is expected to take several weeks according the bank, which plans to replace the former Tuxedo Junction with a small park and open space, giving employees access to the back of the new bank office building through Post Office Plaza. See photos of the demolished building below.