Golden Gate Ballroom

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.[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 Teddy Wilson orchestra was the house band.[4]

The Ballroom was the first site used by pastor Alvin A. Childs' ministry in Harlem.[14]

The Golden Gate Ballroom also hosted community events such as political rallies[7] and the "Miss Fine Brown Frame" beauty pageant[15][16][17] 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. DeVeaux, Scott Knowles (1999). The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 138. ISBN 0520205790.
2. Polatnick, Gordon (6 October 2015). "Historic Lenox Ave. Harlem Jazz Clubs". Big Apple Jazz Tours. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
3. Fletcher, Tom (18 March 2014). "The Cotton Club". New York Architecture. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
4. Korall, B. (2004). Drummin' Men: The Heartbeat of Jazz, The Swing Years. Oxford University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-19-534651-0. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
5. Driggs, Frank; Haddix, Chuck (1 January 2006). Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop--A History. Oxford University Press. p. 192. ISBN 9780195307122.
6. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/40887002/
7. 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 29 March 2017.
8. Fast, Howard (1951). Peekskill USA. New York, NY: Civil Rights Congress. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
9. 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 29 March 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 29 March 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 29 March 2017.
12. Feather, L. (1987). The Jazz Years. Da Capo paperback. Perseus Books Group. pp. 58–59. ISBN 978-0-306-80296-6. Retrieved 29 March 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 29 March 2017.
14. "Bishop Alvin A. Childs Dies; Former Mayor of Harlem, 64". New York Times. 16 August 1973. p. 38. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
15. Glenn, Evelyn (2009). Shades of Difference: Why Skin Color Matters. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. p. 81. ISBN 9780804759984.
16. 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 2 January 2017.
17. "Miss Fine Brown Frame". Ebony. 2 (7): 47. May 1947. Retrieved 2 January 2017.

Further reading

• Image of Charlie Christian playing guitar at the Golden Gate Ballroom
• "Religion: Second Front in Harlem". Time Magazine. 21 December 1942. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
• Fast, Howard (1951). Peekskill USA. New York, NY: Civil Rights Congress. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
• Determeyer, E. (2010). Rhythm Is Our Business: Jimmie Lunceford and the Harlem Express. Jazz Perspectives. University of Michigan Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-472-02630-2. Retrieved 29 March 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)