(CNN) -- After a long legal battle, legendary New York City nightclub CBGB's has lost its lease and is closing its doors after 33 years. CBGB's help launch the careers of the Talking Heads, Joan Jett, Patti Smith, Blondie and the Ramones.
We asked our readers to share their memories of CBGB's and tell us what they think about the club's closing.
Below are some of those responses, some of which have been edited.
I saw the Sex Pistols there. I was in heaven.
Sid spit in my eye as I walked past the stage. John Wands, Verona, New Jersey
I played in a rock band in the NYC music scene during the 90's and early 2000's. I will never forget the thrill I felt the first time walking out on that rickety but great sounding stage and realizing that I was standing and about to play in the same place so many of my idols and influences had.
It was a great place for original bands and it will be sorely missed by all of the NYC rockers. Matthew Pedzick, Syracuse, New York
I have lots of great memories of CB's. Back in the day (that would be the mid-80's), I was in a few heavy bands and I played there about a dozen times.
To have been on that legendary stage, where so many of my heroes had played, was an incredible feeling. Sometimes there were only a few drunk NYU students hanging out by the time we went on at 2 AM, but it was always fun. And they had a great pizza shop next door, too.
The greatest night was when we played CB's the same night as the Greenwich Village Halloween parade, which was one of the most interesting events I've ever witnessed. I was stuck in traffic, held up by the parade, trying desperately to make the gig on time - I was running extremely late-my girlfriend dropped me off out front, I ran inside, my band was already standing on stage, playing the first few notes of the set - I walked up on stage, turned on my keyboards and let it rock. Only in NYC, baby.
What a night. Todd Heft, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
I remember growing up in NYC in the late 70's and early 80's spending time with friends watching the greats like Blondie, Talking Heads, and MANY, many hardcore bands like 247 Spies etc. Caught the farewell performance of Token Entry and Rest In Pieces- What a show!
Sam (one of the bouncers at the time) had a time keeping all the Punks from diving the stage (without splitting their heads wide open!:)) It was one of the few places where no matter what the artistic vision, artists had a venue, a voice and a home. Thanks, Hilly, for all the great memories and the amazing legacy you gave.
..Not only to the bands, but the fans as well.
We will miss CBGB's. I wonder where the underground scene will play now? Angel Brown, Roanoke, Virginia
It is completely upsetting.
Another stepping-stone in the in the gentrification of the Lower East Side. When I first went to CB's the bathrooms had no doors and it was a wild and exciting place to be. Today's bands played on the same stage that yesterday's heroes such as the Ramones and the Dictators made history.
Without CB's New York becomes a little less interesting and little more like everywhere else. Another crucial Landmark in rock and roll history lost forever. Yakov Gonzoberg, Hillsdale, New Jersey
Our 16-year-old son is a rock historian, especially about the golden era of CBGB's and the artists who got their start there.
In the summer of 2005, we finally had a chance to go to CBGB's. It was mid-afternoon and quiet in the place. Hilly Krystal was at his tiny, cluttered desk just inside the door.
Hilly invited us in, posed for a picture, signed the book of photos from CBGB's for which he wrote the forward--but more than that, he was a real gentleman who treated our son with great respect. He told him stories of the old days, asked questions about his band, encouraged him to keep making music, let him go up on stage to feel it out, introduced him to his son-in-law who photographed some of the legendary artists. The ghosts hung heavy in the air and we could imagine the club at full tilt '76.
It's a shame that other young rock aficionados won't have the chance to see for themselves where music changed forever. Thanks to Hilly for hanging in there and for giving us an afternoon to remember..
.see you in Vegas The Foley Family, Reston, Virginia
I can remember sitting in one of the dank, graffiti-filled greenrooms with a friend back in the early 90's just imagining the people who had sat in the same space we were in. It was like the spirits of The Talking Heads, The B-52s, The Ramones, Blondie and the countless other bands that had played there were drifting around us.
I blacked out at that point, but it is still a fond memory. Wade Collin, New York City
This the site where on March 30, 2005, I unknowingly met my crush from 22 years ago. He was there to support a friend.
I came from Baltimore to photograph a local band. Coincidently, his friend was the bandleader. That night the lighting was bad and the band not in top form, but the history of the place was very present.
You could feel the music in the air and see it's history on its walls. Outside, CBGB's evening residents drank, smoked and asked passing women out to dinner.
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