The Hit Factory — New York City

The Hit Factory at 421 West 54th Street in Hell's Kitchen was one of New York's most prestigious recording studios from its founding in 1968 until its closure in 2005. John Lennon spent his last day alive at the Hit Factory on December 8, 1980, mixing 'Walking on Thin Ice' for Yoko Ono before returning to the Dakota, where he was shot. Stevie Wonder recorded Hotter Than July (1980) there. The Notorious B.I.G. recorded Ready to Die (1994) and Life After Death (1997) at the Hit Factory, and the studio was a hub for New York hip hop in the 1990s.

Founded by Jerry Ragovoy, the Hit Factory moved to its 54th Street location in 1975 and quickly became the studio of choice for major label projects in New York. Its client list included Paul Simon, U2 (who recorded some of The Joshua Tree there), Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Nas, and dozens of other major artists. The studio's multiple rooms could accommodate everything from intimate vocal sessions to full orchestral recordings, and its engineering staff was among the best in the industry.

The Hit Factory closed in 2005 when its lease expired, a casualty of rising Manhattan real estate prices and the decline of big-budget studio recording in the digital era. The building has since been converted to other uses. The studio's closure was widely mourned in the music industry as the end of an era for New York recording.