Originally opened as Gary's and then Circus Circus, became Club 219 in February 1981. The good times and stellar reputation continued, as the bar carried on the traddition of bright lights, blaring music, high-energy dance and parties. For some years it was THE place to be on New Year's Eve.

Although in 1981 still THE dance bar in town, it was surpassed as the premier dance bar by La Cage upon that bar's opening in 1984, and since then had been the secondary dance bar, and home of regular drag show performances, as well as hosting male strippers/dancers.

Club 219 became nationally infamous mid-1991 when it was revealed that this was the bar frequented by mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer, who met several men here who were subsequently found to be murdered by him.

By the mid 1990's, Club 94 had been eclipsed by several other bars in popularity, and as the 90's came to a close, the area was struggling as development began to encroach on the area, severely limiting parking. The bar continues to operate however, and early 2005 saw new hope as long-time DJ Tony (Tonya) (formerly of La Cage), was hired and began to try to inject new energy into the bar with updated lighting, music, and entertainment. But unfortunately the bar finally succumbed to declined popularity and sparse crowds even on Saturday nights; it closed its doors early in October 2005.