7 Places We Used to Party on Albany’s Pearl Street 10 Years Ago

From the mid 90's to the mid 2010's, Pearl Street in Albany was the social hot spot. In fact, the street used to get so crowded with people on Saturday nights, that a good portion of the road was closed down to pedestrians (clubbers) only, and traffic rerouted around the busy club district.

If you grew up in the Capital Region and wanted a night out on the club scene, this was the place to be. A number of clubs and lounges came and went on Pearl Street over the years - Envy, Mad River, Plastic - just to name a few. And some withstood the test of time for a long while.

Here's a look back to around 2011 and 2012 at the hot spots and nightclubs we would spend our weekends - before the arrival of Tinder.

Jillian's

Was there a more popular place than Jillian's? Three floors of entertainment, with a bar on the first floor, arcade games on the second floor, and a nightclub up top.

R Bar & Grill

Located next to Jillians. R Bar was probably most popular in its heyday when it was Envy Lounge

In 2011 Pearl Street Pub was located across the street from its most recent location. They took over the Jillian's building in 2016, but closed permanently in 2021.

Dirty Martini Lounge

Right next to the old Pearl Street Pub. The name speaks for itself.

Bayou Cafe

Very popular spot back in the day. Intensely cool atmosphere that also featured live music. It's now The Hollow

Intimate venue with an incredible beer selection. Savannah's hosted lots of local bands and club parties on the weekends.

Blue 82

Restaurant and Lounge that had an amazing 17 year run on Pearl Street. Sadly they closed their doors on April 1 of this year.