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 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]

Golden Gate Ballroom
AddressNew York City
United States

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. 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 (October 6, 2015). "Historic Lenox Ave. Harlem Jazz Clubs". Big Apple Jazz Tours. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  3. Fletcher, Tom (March 18, 2014). "The Cotton Club". New York Architecture. Retrieved December 15, 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 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. 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. 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. 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.

Further reading
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