A photo taken in Central Harlem circa 1939 shows the energy of the crowd at The Savoy Ballroom during the height of its popularity as one of the great social venues of New York City. The dance was the jitterbug and a big band would have been playing in the background. One can always discern The Savoy interiors in these old Harlem photos because of the curved, art deco walls in the background which were very unique to the space. As we have mentioned in the past, the building on 140th and Lenox was torn down for middle income housing several decades ago and the only thing left to indicate the lost landmark is a bronze plaque:
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Archival image courtesy the Museum of the City of New York
How beautiful those dudes in the background look. Its highly likely that my paternal grandfather was there the night this photo was taken. He told me that when he came to Harlem in '37 and told a co-worker of his desire to go to the Savoy to meet girls, his co-worker said; "...boy you got to get a good suit before you go up in there, you can't go into the Savoy lookin' country.!!!" So his first suit was for a visit to the Savoy and did double duty on Sunday morning as he attended St. John's Baptist Church on West 152nd St.
ReplyDeleteI am grateful for that placque. Sometimes when I'm over on West 140th St. I go over to the placque and in my minds eye I can see my maternal grandparents "...Stompin' at the Savoy," having the time of their lives. And at the same time I imagine them looking down & watching as I patronize different venues in Harlem. I so wish that they could see how Harlem has changed.
By the way, we could use a could dance spot or two.