Ballroom in Harlem
The Golden Gate Ballroom , originally named the "State Palace Ballroom",[ 1] was a luxurious[ 2] [ 3] [ 4] ballroom located at the intersection of Lenox Avenue and 142nd Street[ 5] [ 3] [ 6] [ note 1] in Harlem in New York City.[ 2] It was allegedly the largest public auditorium in Harlem, with 25,000 square feet and a capacity of about 5,000 people on the dance floor in addition to several thousand spectators.[ 1] [ 8] [ 7]
The serial entrepreneur Jay Faggen led the project to open the Golden Gate Ballroom, which took place in October 1939.[ 1] [ 4] The site had formerly been the Douglas Theater.[ 9] By mid-1940, it was taken over by the same owner and manager as the Savoy Ballroom .[ 10] [ 11] It was one of many Harlem jazz clubs located on Lenox Avenue[ 3] and competed intensely with the Savoy Ballroom.[ 12]
The Golden Gate closed around 1950.[ 3]
Notable performers at the Golden Gate included Les Hite , Harlan Leonard , Claude Hopkins , Milt Herth , Jimmie Lunceford ,[ 12] Count Basie , Hot Lips Page ,[ 9] Josh White , Art Tatum , Billie Holiday , Hazel Scott ,[ 7] and Coleman Hawkins .[ 13] [ 9] The opening night stars were the Cotton Club Parade , Stepin Fetchit , and Louis Armstrong .[ 14]
The Teddy Wilson orchestra was the house band .[ 4]
The ballroom was the first site used by pastor Alvin A. Childs ' ministry in Harlem.[ 15]
The Golden Gate Ballroom also hosted community events such as political rallies[ 7] and the "Miss Fine Brown Frame" beauty pageant[ 16] [ 17] [ 18] and served as a roller skating rink.[ 1]
^ Korall says it was on 135th Street.[ 4] Kernodle says 140th street.[ 7] Perhaps it spanned all of these?
^ a b c d DeVeaux, Scott Knowles (1999). The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 138. ISBN 0520205790 .
^ a b Polatnick, Gordon (October 6, 2015). "Historic Lenox Ave. Harlem Jazz Clubs" . Big Apple Jazz Tours . Retrieved December 15, 2016 .
^ a b c d Fletcher, Tom (March 18, 2014). "The Cotton Club" . New York Architecture . Retrieved December 15, 2016 .
^ a b c d Korall, B. (2004). Drummin' Men: The Heartbeat of Jazz, The Swing Years . Oxford University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-19-534651-0 . Retrieved March 29, 2017 .
^ Driggs, Frank; Haddix, Chuck (January 1, 2006). Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop--A History . Oxford University Press. p. 192. ISBN 9780195307122 .
^ "The New York Age from New York, New York on May 15, 1943 · Page 4" .
^ a b c d Kernodle, T.L. (2004). Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams . Northeastern University Press. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-55553-606-0 . Retrieved March 29, 2017 .
^ Fast, Howard (1951). Peekskill USA . New York, NY: Civil Rights Congress. Retrieved January 2, 2017 .
^ a b c Gill, J. (2011). Harlem: The Four Hundred Year History from Dutch Village to Capital of Black America . Grove/Atlantic, Incorporated. p. 323. ISBN 978-0-8021-9594-4 . Retrieved March 29, 2017 .
^ Chilton, J. (1990). The Song of the Hawk: The Life and Recordings of Coleman Hawkins . The Michigan American music series. University of Michigan Press. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-472-08201-8 . Retrieved March 29, 2017 .
^ Manning, F.; Millman, C.R. (2007). Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop . Temple University Press. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-59213-563-9 . Retrieved March 29, 2017 .
^ a b Feather, L. (1987). The Jazz Years . Da Capo paperback. Perseus Books Group. pp. 58–59. ISBN 978-0-306-80296-6 . Retrieved March 29, 2017 .
^ O'Neal, H. (2009). The Ghosts of Harlem: Sessions with Jazz Legends . The Ghosts of Harlem: Sessions with Jazz Legends. Vanderbilt University Press. ISBN 978-0-8265-1627-5 . Retrieved March 29, 2017 .
^ "Golden Gate Million Dollar Ballroom opening night ad" . New York Age . October 21, 1939. p. 12. Retrieved May 1, 2021 .
^ "Bishop Alvin A. Childs Dies; Former Mayor of Harlem, 64" . The New York Times . August 16, 1973. p. 38. Retrieved December 15, 2016 .
^ Glenn, Evelyn (2009). Shades of Difference: Why Skin Color Matters . Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. p. 81. ISBN 9780804759984 .
^ Bailey, Eric J. (2008). Black America, Body Beautiful: How the African American Image is Changing Fashion, Fitness, and Other Industries . Westport, CT: Praeger. p. 45. ISBN 9780275995959 . Retrieved January 2, 2017 .
^ "Miss Fine Brown Frame" . Ebony . 2 (7): 47. May 1947. Retrieved January 2, 2017 .[dead link ]
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