The Power Station (Avatar Studios) — New York City

The Power Station — later renamed Avatar Studios, now Power Station at BerkleeNYC — at 441 West 53rd Street in Hell's Kitchen has been one of the most important recording studios in New York since it opened in 1977 in a converted Con Edison power substation. The building's massive live room, with its high ceilings and stone walls, produces a drum sound of extraordinary depth and power. Bruce Springsteen recorded The River (1980) and Born in the U.S.A. (1984) at the Power Station; the Duran Duran side project that recorded there in 1985 literally named themselves the Power Station after the studio.

The studio was designed by Tony Bongiovi (Jon Bon Jovi's cousin) and has hosted sessions by Madonna, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Chic, Talking Heads, and hundreds of others. Nile Rodgers recorded much of his work with Chic and his production clients at the Power Station, and the studio's association with the tight, punchy sound of early 1980s New York — disco, post-punk, new wave, and the emerging hip hop scene — makes it one of the defining recording facilities of the era. The live room's acoustics, shaped by the building's industrial origins, give recordings made there a distinctive character.

The building was acquired by Berklee College of Music in 2017 and now operates as Power Station at BerkleeNYC, continuing to function as a recording studio while also serving as an educational facility. The original control rooms and live rooms have been preserved, and the studio maintains its legacy as one of New York's most historically significant recording spaces.