709 Railroad Street
Photograph courtesy of Shawn Schmalz
709 Railroad Street is both the name and location of one of Johnstown, PA’s most unique entertainment venues. Located on the edge of downtown Johnstown, the establishment is part music club, part art gallery, part community gathering area.
The mainstay of the facility is live music performances, featuring original music from artists in the Punk, Indie, Hardcore and, occasionally, Metal genres. Averaging a show each week, the location draws acts from near and far.
Typically, shows feature as many as five or six bands performing in a single evening. All shows are all-ages and generally end around 10:00PM, providing teens and young adults with a terrific entertainment opportunity.
709 Railroad Street is part of an East Coast touring route that caters to bands of similar style (punk, hardcore, etc.). Being a part of this network of approximately 50 stops between New England and Florida brings a wide-selection of bands for area residents to enjoy.
Founded and managed by a collective of area artists and musicians, 709 Railroad Street provides an ideal opportunity for young creatives to showcase their art. A key part of the facility is, in fact, its art gallery, which features a new art opening quarterly. “Johnstown is a great place to live inexpensively and have time to focus on your art,” says Promoter/Musician Mikey D’Angelo. “Plus, there is a great creative network here to support you.”
According to Mr. D’Angelo, since opening in August 2007 the venue has hosted the premier of 125 artistic offerings, including art collections, books, CD releases, art performances and film screenings.
The common area of 709 Railroad Street speaks to the community ideal of the collective. Furnished for comfortable socializing, the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly and includes a community library that features classic literature, do-it-yourself books, and volumes on art and design.
709 Railroad Street events are always listed in the Do Johnstown! calendar and select photos are available at the Do Johnstown! Flickr photostream.
Bands wishing to perform at the venue can contact promoters by emailing bands_709 (-at-) yahoo.com.
Artists interested in scheduling a showing of their wares should contact Jacob Koestler, Art Curator, by emailing art_709 (-at-) yahoo.com.
Official online presences for 709 Railroad Street include:
709 Railroad Street is located at (surprise, surprise!) 709 Rail Street, Johnstown, PA (click here for a map).
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This entry was posted on Saturday, August 29th, 2009 at 3:16 pm and is filed under Art & Exhibitions, Music & Theater. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
2 Responses to “709 Railroad Street”
September 2nd, 2009 at 3:56 pm
I hav not had a chance to visit 709 Railroad St. when I am home visiting Johnstown, but I’ve been following the stuff that’s been going on there. It’s really awesome to see the kids back in Johnstown doing things like this. Back in my day (late 80’s) there were maybe 9 or 10 kids that were into punk rock and it didn’t really go over too well with lots of the folks in Johnstown.
Our options for shows were traveling to Pittsburgh for the amazing gigs at the Electric Banana, Graffiti, City Limits – Pittsburgh had an amazing punk scene – and an occasional show in Altoona (where Metal reigned supreme!). Once a year there would also be a show in Johnstown at the Log Cabin on UPJ campus.
Hopefully I’ll get a chance to stop by 709 for a show one of these days. I’ll be the jaded old 37 year punk in the back.
Kick ass, Johnstown kids!
February 28th, 2010 at 10:13 am
Wow i didn’t know we had a place like this!