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Golden Gate Ballroom
Address New York City
United States

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]

History

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]

Notes

  1. ^ Korall says it was on 135th Street. [4] Kernodle says 140th street. [7] Perhaps it spanned all of these?

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b Polatnick, Gordon (October 6, 2015). "Historic Lenox Ave. Harlem Jazz Clubs". Big Apple Jazz Tours. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Fletcher, Tom (March 18, 2014). "The Cotton Club". New York Architecture. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Driggs, Frank; Haddix, Chuck (January 1, 2006). Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop--A History. Oxford University Press. p. 192. ISBN  9780195307122.
  6. ^ "The New York Age from New York, New York on May 15, 1943 · Page 4".
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Fast, Howard (1951). Peekskill USA. New York, NY: Civil Rights Congress. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Golden Gate Million Dollar Ballroom opening night ad". New York Age. October 21, 1939. p. 12. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  15. ^ "Bishop Alvin A. Childs Dies; Former Mayor of Harlem, 64". The New York Times. August 16, 1973. p. 38. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  16. ^ Glenn, Evelyn (2009). Shades of Difference: Why Skin Color Matters. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. p. 81. ISBN  9780804759984.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "Miss Fine Brown Frame". Ebony. 2 (7): 47. May 1947. Retrieved January 2, 2017.[ dead link]

Further reading

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