VIA PRESS RELEASE | Brooklyn’s Empire Rollerdrome opened its doors in 1941 and soon became the borough’s premier destination for recreational and competitive roller skating.
But it wasn’t until the late 1970s that the celebrated rink reached iconic status by replacing its organist with a live DJ, installing a state of the art sound and light system, and renaming itself after the nationwide dance craze it had helped to originate: the Empire Roller Disco was born. In 1980, the acclaimed street photographer Patrick D. Pagnano went on assignment to document the Empire and its legendary cast of partygoers. The resulting photographs, gathered in Empire Roller Disco for the first time, capture the vibrant spirits, extraordinary styles, and sheer joys of Brooklyn roller disco at its dizzying peak.
Called “one of the most versatile and adaptive street photographers in the genre’s history,” Patrick D. Pagnano moved to New York City from Chicago in 1974 and immersed himself in an art practice that would grow to include street work, portraiture, and documentary photography. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and numerous other institutions. He passed away in 2018.
Miss Rosen is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn. Since launching her journalistic career as an art and nightclub critic for The Village Voice in 1997, she has gone on to publish work in magazines such as L’Uomo Vogue, Bust, Juxtapoz, and Paper as well as on websites including AnOther, Aperture, Dazed, Huck, and Vogue. She served as editor and creative director for powerHouse Magazine, and was Marketing Director for powerHouse Books from 2000–2009. Rosen has contributed to numerous books and publications on photography and the arts, and has lectured at Columbia University, the International Center of Photography, and the School of Visual Arts.
