Funky’s was a legendary nightclub, restaurant, and discotheque in Downtown Evansville, Indiana, that operated from 1975 to 1980. Located at 18 S. Third Avenue near the Ohio River, Funky’s became one of the best-known entertainment destinations in Evansville during the disco era and has remained a favorite piece of local nostalgia decades after its closing.
Often remembered as Evansville’s answer to Studio 54, Funky’s was much more elaborate than a typical neighborhood bar. At its peak, the enormous club could have roughly 1,000 people inside while hundreds more waited in line, drawing visitors from throughout the Tri-State and beyond.
From an Old Foundry to a Nightclub
Funky’s was the creation of Evansville native Robert “Bob” Folz, an entrepreneur known locally for his successful record store and clothing business, FolzCity Boutique.
Folz took over an old industrial building near Evansville’s riverfront that had previously housed the Holtz foundry. The building’s industrial history stretched back into the 19th century.
Rather than hide the enormous old structure’s character, Folz transformed it.
Working with B.J. Hungate and a crew of carpenters and laborers, Folz converted the former foundry into an approximately 14,000-square-foot entertainment complex.
A surviving 1975 advertisement described Funky’s as:
“The Midwest’s most unique Dining Room-Discotheque.”
The advertisement also emphasized the unusual setting, noting that the building had once been the Holtz Steamboat Foundry.
Opening in 1975
Funky’s held its grand opening in October 1975, with promotions including a disco dance contest and a Halloween event.
Its timing could hardly have been better.
Disco was exploding across America, and nightclubs were becoming major social destinations. Funky’s brought that culture to Evansville on a scale the city had rarely seen.
The club quickly became enormously popular.
Former Funky’s advertising and public relations manager John Steinhauer later recalled nights when approximately 500 people might be waiting outside while another 1,000 were already inside.
For many young adults in Evansville during the second half of the 1970s, Funky’s became the place to be.
Inside Funky’s
Part of the club’s appeal was its sheer spectacle.
Funky’s featured:
- A large discotheque and dance area
- Multiple bar stations
- A restaurant
- A cocktail and mingling area
- Strobe lights and elaborate lighting effects
- Mirror balls
- Huge projected photographs
- Approximately 35-foot ceilings
- A game room
- Fountains
- Exotic plants
- Antiques and stained glass
- Electronic and traditional games
- A large fish tank
Eight projectors could display photographs of customers across white fabric covering portions of the club’s walls.
The original stone floors from the building’s foundry days remained visible in portions of the complex, combining Evansville’s industrial past with the extravagant atmosphere of a 1970s nightclub.
“The Magic Is in the Mingle”
Bob Folz promoted Funky’s around the idea that:
“The magic is in the mingle.”
The phrase captured what made Funky’s successful.
People weren’t simply coming to dance. Funky’s was designed as a social experience where patrons moved between the dance floor, restaurant, bars, game room, and cocktail areas.
At its height, Funky’s reportedly sold 8,000 to 10,000 glasses of beer per week, along with roughly comparable numbers of mixed drinks.
The club also used an Easybar automated drink-dispensing system, technology that was unusual at the time.
Famous Funky’s Promotions
Funky’s became especially well known for extravagant promotional events.
These included:
- Ladies Night
- Fashion shows
- The Gong Show
- 1950s nights
- 1960s nights
- The Dating Game
- Wet T-shirt contests
- Wet gym short contests
- Male dance revues
- Special themed parties
The club sometimes spent thousands of dollars producing a single promotion — considerable money for a local nightclub during the 1970s.
The promotions helped turn Funky’s into something larger than a bar. There was always the possibility that something unusual was going to happen there.
Bob Folz
Funky’s reflected the personality and imagination of its creator.
Robert Folz was only 27 years old when Funky’s opened.
A graduate of Harrison High School, Folz had served in Vietnam and later became involved in Evansville’s retail and entertainment scene.
His FolzCity Boutique opened in Downtown Evansville in 1970 and helped finance his later nightclub ventures.
Folz became known for elaborate ideas, unconventional promotions, and an ability to turn nightlife into theater.
He later opened Mr. Funky Monkey, a teenage nightclub on Evansville’s East Side. The concept lasted only a few months before Folz transformed the location into another well-remembered Evansville establishment:
Good Time Bobby’s.
The End of Funky’s
By the end of the 1970s, disco’s enormous popularity was beginning to decline nationally.
Folz apparently recognized that the disco boom would not last forever. After receiving disappointing financial projections, he decided to close Funky’s in March 1980.
The club held its final celebration on March 30, 1980.
Appropriately, the event was called:
Funky’s Last Dance
The closing became an emotional event for people who had spent much of the previous five years meeting friends, dating, dancing, eating, and partying there.
Former employees later remembered people crying during the final night.
For many patrons, Funky’s wasn’t simply a nightclub. It represented an entire period of their lives.
Funky’s II
The Funky’s name did not completely disappear after 1980.
During the 1980s, Funky’s II operated in Downtown Evansville and catered in part to younger crowds. Contemporary accounts show Funky’s II operating into the late 1980s, including as an under-21 entertainment destination.
The venue featured dance music and live acts, and portions of the complex were used for different styles of music.
Although Funky’s II carried the famous name, the original 1975–1980 Funky’s remains the establishment most strongly associated with the legend.
What Happened to the Building?
The building that housed Funky’s had existed long before the nightclub.
Historic Evansville traces the site to an industrial structure built around 1870, associated first with Schultze, Thuman & Co. and later the F. Holtz foundry and machine shop.
The old Funky’s building survived for decades after the original nightclub closed.
Eventually, however, it disappeared as Evansville’s Downtown riverfront continued to change.
The historic structure was razed sometime after 2005, eliminating one of the physical remnants of the city’s 1970s nightlife era.
Funky’s Legacy
Few former Evansville businesses inspire the kind of nostalgia that Funky’s still does.
It existed for only about five years, yet its reputation has survived for more than four decades.
People who experienced Funky’s have continued sharing photographs, advertisements, T-shirts, memorabilia, and stories from the club. Reunions and retrospective events have celebrated the Funky’s era long after the original dance floor disappeared.
Evansville Living later described the club as one of the city’s defining 1970s entertainment destinations, while former patrons and employees have compared the atmosphere to something Evansville had never experienced before.
Funky’s arrived at exactly the right moment — when disco, nightlife, fashion, music, and changing social attitudes were colliding.
For a few years in Downtown Evansville, an old riverfront foundry became one of the wildest places in Indiana.
And for the generation that experienced it, Funky’s was Evansville nightlife.
Quick Facts
Name: Funky’s
Type: Nightclub, discotheque, restaurant, and entertainment complex
Address: 18 S. Third Ave., Evansville, Indiana
Opened: 1975
Closed: March 1980
Founder: Robert “Bob” Folz
Size: Approximately 14,000 square feet
Known For: Disco dancing, elaborate promotions, themed events, multiple bars, restaurant, game room, and massive crowds
Final Event: “Funky’s Last Dance” — March 30, 1980
Status: Closed; original building later demolished
Category: Lost Evansville / Entertainment / Nightlife