First Avenue, the legendary twin cities nightclub and setting of Prince’s film “Purple Rain” closed its doors on Tuesday, November 2nd after 35 years. Owner and founder Allan Fingerhut filed for bankruptcy last Tuesday afternoon, culminating months of speculation about the club’s financial standing.

In 1969, Fingerhut converted the club from an old Greyhound Bus Station. The building was owned by Ted Mann’s Hollywood Theater Co. until 2000, when current landlord Byron Frank formed investment group F Troop with managers Jack Meyers and Steve McClellan, as well as Fingerhut. Frank, putting up the most money, got a share of the profits, but this was a source of much dispute within the group and in 2003 Fingerhut sued Frank over a contract dispute. “No matter what they say, they were tripling the rent,” Fingerhut told the City Pages. “The eviction came from the non-paid real estate taxes owed from the year 2002, according to the lease contract only. In other words, it didn’t come from Hollywood Theaters. It didn’t come from the county or the city. It only came from the lease between the Committee, Inc. and F Troop.”

The building that used to be First Avenue is still owned by Byron Frank, and it is unsure at this point what it will become. The landlords plan to bring the club back under a new name, but at this point there are only rumors. When asked what the new club might be called, LeeAnn Weimar, spokesperson for F Troop, stated, “I can tell you this: It won’t be called The Club Formerly Known as First Avenue.”

Employees and music fans alike are saddened by the loss of one of the Twin Cities’ greatest clubs. Longtime employee Chris Dunlap, whose parents also worked at the club, told City Pages, “I spent almost every day of my life down here since I was three, four years old. What the hell am I supposed to do?”

The acts scheduled to play at First Avenue are now scrambling to find replacement venues: Robyn Hitchcock moved to the Cedar, the Blues Explosion to the 400 Bar, and Le Tigre to The Quest’s Ascot Room.

This is a sad time for Twin Cities music fans, and though hopefully a new club will open there, it will lack the history—and most likely the draw—that First Avenue has always provided. It is the foremost symbol of the Twin Cities music scene, whose exterior is a testament to its history. Both sides of the building are filled with stars paying homage to both local and legendary bands that have played there, including Nirvana, R.E.M., James Brown, U2, and many more. Allan Fingerhut stated, “I no longer own my club after 35 years. It’s killing me. It’s breaking my heart.”