The Electric Circus was a nightclub located at 19-25 St. Marks Place between Second and Third Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City,[1] from 1967 to August 1971.

Jackie Cassen and Rudi Stern began leasing the ballroom on the floor above Stanley's Bar for their "Theater of Light" show.

[5] Later in 1966 the club, under different management by Albert Grossman, was briefly called the Balloon Farm and in 1967 the lease was transferred to Brandt Freeman Int'l, Ltd. the General partner of The Electric Circus Company.

When a small bomb, reportedly planted by a member of the Black Panther Party[2] exploded on the dance floor on March 22, 1970, injuring 15 people, the negative publicity accelerated the decline of the club; it closed a year and a half later in August 1971.

[7] According to an AP news story that appeared in the Toledo Blade on March 31, 1970, the Black Panther Party denied any connection to the student, Ishmael Brown, who reportedly planted the bomb.

The actual club is depicted in a scene of Mad Men season 6, episode 3 ("To Have and To Hold", set in early 1968), during which Joan Harris and her friend Kate go out on the town.