Smart Bar

CTL-E-2590 · Venue · club · 1982–present

VERIFIED evidence grade of this record

Independent Chicago dance club at 3730 N. Clark Street, opened by Joe Shanahan in July 1982 in the basement of the Metro building; a global destination for house music and developing DJs. Frankie Knuckles was the first DJ hired to play the club.

The record

Also known as: Smart Bar, Smart Bar Chicago, Smartbar

Notes

Merged CTL-E-0592 (Smartbar stub) into this record on RELP112 coordinator adjudication 2026-10-06: same venue (3730 N. Clark, July 1982, Joe Shanahan); 0592 claims/evidence rewired here.

Relationships

Joe Shanahan — founded by
Smartbar was opened by Metro owner Joe Shanahan.

Referenced by

Frankie Knuckles — performed at → this record
House music — name origin — performed at → this record

Sources

Fandom — The Metro (Chicago) wiki
Congress.gov — Congressional Record: Metro 30th anniversary (Rep. Mike Quigley) (primary source)
Pollstar — How Metro's Joe Shanahan Helped Build Chicago's Live Ecosystem
SPIN - Meet Me at Metro: 40 Years (2023-02)
Resident Advisor - Frankie Knuckles Smart Bar residency (2013-01-10)

Record CTL-E-2590 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: VERIFIED · 5 sources (1 primary) · 3 mapped relationships · CTL research: RELP-001.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

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Cite as: CultureTechLens, “Smart Bar (CTL-E-2590),” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, October 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-2590/

Chicago: CultureTechLens. “Smart Bar (CTL-E-2590).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-2590/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). Smart Bar (CTL-E-2590) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-2590/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “Smart Bar (CTL-E-2590).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-2590/

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