Before Rive opened as a nightclub that eventually catered to a crowd of Chicago's young Polish population, it was known as a predominantly male homosexual venue dubbed The Generator.
[1] Rive was undoubtedly an adult playground where only female patrons were allowed to dance on stripper poles and the miniature Eiffel Tower statues,[2] sometimes three or four at a time.
[3] Rive was immediately handed a citation and had to close down for short period of time to fix their outside exit doors so they will open outward as opposed to inward.
In 2005, due to the age of the nightclub and patrons passing up Rive for newer venues, Rive Gauche Nightclub owners decided to close down and remodel the club back into the Generator, a club catering particularly to the African-American gay community.
Mannequin is among the few nightspots to implement Illinois's statewide public smoking ban well before becoming law on January 1, 2008.