For decades the place to be on Friday nights in Montrose for cheap drinks and a DJ spinning classic punk, New Wave and dance music has been at the corner of Westheimer and Mason.

This weekend Numbers Nightclub, 300 Westheimer, is celebrating 40 years of action. The club, with its black-painted exterior and mural of icons like Debbie Harry and David Bowie on its west end, has survived every cultural change that the neighborhood has seen since the late '70s.

THE DREAM OF THE '90s: Time travel back to Houston in 1993

The club is marking the occasion with a special dance party on Saturday starting at 8 p.m. with a 40-cent cover charge the first hour. Drink specials will be on tap until 10 p.m. and there will be door prizes, according to the club. No one is said to be leaving empty-handed.

Every Friday night since April 1991, DJ Wes Wallace has had a standing gig at Numbers. This might be the biggest weekend in club history, he said.

ALL IS GOOD IN THE HOOD: Houston's Montrose neighborhood makes list of '14 coolest hipster neighborhoods' in U.S.

"This is without a doubt the biggest party we've ever tried to pull off and we're all a bit nervous," Wallace said Friday. "We know of dozens of people from out of state coming in for this and we expect a huge turnout."

According to Wallace, the club will debut major upgrades like a new lighting system, expanded air conditioning, seating and a remodeled women's restroom. DJs will be playing the biggest songs in the club's history since 1978 so expect everything from New Order to Devo.

When the doors opened in 1975 the club was known as a dinner theater called The Million Dollar City Dump. In 1978 it became known as Numbers, as in, a place to score phone numbers. It did time as the disco club Babylon from December 1980 until 1983 when it was changed back to Numbers. Hence the "#'s 2" on the sign outside.

DRINK UP!: Houston bars where you can drink like an adult

As of late, some younger Houstonians have looked at the marquee confused, thinking it was called "Hashtags" and soon getting schooled by the neighborhood's wizened gatekeepers.

Over the years landmark acts like The Cure, Bjork, Nine Inch Nails, Green Day and the Foo Fighters have all played the club on their way to worldwide fame and arena shows. The venue has kept a substantial list of all of the acts that have played its stage since 1979.

The first confirmed act was the Village People over two nights in September 1979. Blind Melon's Shannon Hoon played the last show of his life on the Numbers stage in July 1995. He died of a drug overdose before the band's next show in New Orleans.

It's been a place for fans to mourn the likes of Prince and Bowie with special themed nights too, offering up catharsis on the darkened dance floor in the days after their deaths.

WARM LEATHERETTE: 'Classic Numbers' weekly Friday night bash turns remains nearly ageless

The club's weekly Friday night party "Classic Numbers" is still a must-do for anyone looking to get the full Montrose experience. Dancing to Morrissey and The Normal is a rite of passage for anyone claiming to be a true Montrosian. And braving those strong Long Island Iced Teas.

This weekend, according to Wallace, is for the people who have made Numbers a magical place since 1978.

TRENT AND COMPANY: When Nine Inch Nails played Numbers in 1995 "the whole floor was a pit"

"We wholly realize that it is their continued and growing support over the years that have allowed us to remain open all of these years," Wallace said. "This party is for them."

Meanwhile production continues on a long-gestating documentary about the club's history called "Friday I'm In Love" which will feature interviews with Houston and some of the touring acts that have played at the club.

Craig Hlavaty covers Houston history and pop-culture. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | craig.hlavaty@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message