Cotton Club (Las Vegas)
The Cotton Club was a club at 500 Jackson Avenue in the West Side of Las Vegas, Nevada, which was an exclusive club for African Americans.[1]
| Address | 500 Jackson Avenue Las Vegas, Nevada United States |
|---|---|
| Opened | 1944 |
| Closed | 1957 |
History
Established in late 1944 as a small bar by Moe Taub,[2][3] it was one of the earliest Black clubs to legally operate away from Downtown Las Vegas. Sarann Knight-Preddy become a keno writer for the club,[4] and in 1950 she became the first black woman to hold a gaming license in Nevada.[2]
In July 1947 the Cotton Club was sold to Jodie Cannon, who resold it less than 6 months later to Uvalde Caperton, though Cannon stayed on as a manager.[2] The original club was destroyed by an explosion and fire in May 1948.[5] Caperton owned the club until 1957, when it closed.[2]
Later Years
In 1969, Preddy put in a club with Margie Elliot called the Playhouse Lounge at the location. They were unable to obtain a gaming license and after a year, sold the business.[6] It reopened from 1970 to 1985 as "Love's Cocktail Lounge".[2]
References
- Ebony. Johnson Pub.Company. 1953. p. 144.
- "Westside" (PDF). Casino Collectable News. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- Roman 2011, pp. 102–103.
- McKee 2014, p. 34.
- "Cotton Club Destroyed". San Bernardino County Sun. May 13, 1948. p. 2. Retrieved September 21, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- White 1997, pp. 52–53.
Bibliography
- McKee, Robert J. (27 February 2014). Community Action against Racism in West Las Vegas: The F Street Wall and the Women Who Brought It Down. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0-7391-8678-7.
- Roman, James (2011). Chronicles of Old Las Vegas: Exposing Sin City's High-Stakes History. Museyon. ISBN 978-1-9384-5002-0.
- White, Claytee D. (June 5, 1997). "Transcript of interview with Sarann Knight Preddy". Las Vegas, Nevada: University of Nevada Las Vegas. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.