The Saint, which was constructed inside the renovated space that had once housed the renowned Fillmore East theatre, featured a dome-covered dance floor, the dome being suspended in mid-air, and a complete planetarium mechanism that projected a starscape onto the dome above the dance floor. Some say its like has not been recreated since. This members-only male (with very limited exceptions) club was very technologically advanced. Although Flamingo and 12 West were New York clubs that had theme-centered gay parties, these nightclubs were eclipsed by the opening of the mega-nightclub, The Saint, in the East Village in 1980. They lasted one evening only, and were held in various large venues in metropolitan areas with large gay populations. These proto-circuit parties in the late 1970s, the precursors of what later became circuit parties, were called disco parties.
The start of the circuit has been attributed to many different parties that sprang up during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
