They didn't have a liquor licence but you could get a cheeky Bacardi in your teacup if you knew the right guy.
A portrait of the illustrious-sounding Sky Lounge - Whangarei's first attempt at a night club - forms part of Northland Youth Theatre's (NYT) latest offering, a tongue in cheek history of 86 Bank St.
Sky Lounge opened in the early 1960s and was populated with a twee scene of high school students sipping endless cups of tea, though a couple of Auckland and local bands played on the weekends at the building that now houses NYT, the Old Stone Butter Factory and most recently, a wedding shop.
![Whangarei's former butter factory on Bank St is the focus of Northland Youth Theatre's latest production. Photo / John Stone](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/FOEIET7CMIR3A7SGMQYSSZJCSI.jpg?auth=eec2223f2a1df6b529358464f426d3691fadfb6c29a57efac83b0ed5b3238665&width=16&height=23&quality=70&smart=true)
Thirty NYT performers ranging in age from 8 to 18 years will take the audience across all three levels and through an exploration of the history of the building and its occupants using video, photographs, audio recordings, music and theatre.