Wetlands Preserve

This former nightclub occupied 7,500 square feet across two levels at 161 Hudson Street, featuring a trusted sound system and intimate setting that facilitated close connections between performers and audiences during late-night jam sessions that often extended until dawn.

Established on February 16, 1989, in a repurposed Chinese food warehouse, the venue operated for twelve years until its closure on September 10, 2001, when the building was sold for conversion into cooperative apartments during Manhattan's gentrification wave.

The club served as ground zero for the post-Grateful Dead jam band movement, hosting over 3,700 performances by emerging and established artists while combining musical entertainment with environmental activism through its dedicated Activism Center and community organizing efforts.

Located in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood, the venue was accessible via public transportation, though parking options remained limited in the surrounding area, and visitors today can explore its documented history through the 2008 documentary and comprehensive visual book published in 2014.

Merchandise was famously sold from a brightly painted vintage Volkswagen van, and the venue's handcrafted calendars and graphics were created by artists including Cheryl Liguori, giving it a distinctive homemade aesthetic that contrasted with mainstream commercial venues.