NEW YORK (AP) — Workers at a Manhattan construction site dug up what appeared to be an unexploded World War II-era bomb but turned out to be a time capsule from a New York City nightclub that helped launch Madonna's career.
Emergency responders and bomb-squad units closed W. 21st Street between 5th and 6th Avenues in Manhattan's Flatiron District and evacuated people from nearby buildings, according to the New York Daily News.
Police determined quickly that the device, which had tail fins, was not dangerous. It contained letters written to the future left by partygoers.
The capsule was buried in 1985 by clubgoers and bartenders from the club Danceteria.
Former owner John Argento told the Daily News of New York he bought it for $200 at an Army Navy store on Canal Street.
Twitter user Pierce Streiff captured video of emergency responders inspecting the device.
@NYPDnews literally found a bomb on 21st street in NYC. pic.twitter.com/nsUpoE74RS
— Pierce Streiff (@heypiercey) July 5, 2017
Argento, who now runs several venues in Jersey City, New Jersey, said he "kind of mentioned it as a joke back then."
"It was just an excuse to throw a party,"he told the Daily News. "We forgot about it and went on to the next party."
Madonna was a regular at the club in the early 1980s and performed there. It closed in 1986.
World War II-era bombs turn up with frequency in Europe, particularly France and Germany. On Wednesday, a child in western Germany sparked the evacuation of a kindergarten by bringing an incendiary bomb found in the woods into a classroom.
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