The Apollo Theater has gone through many transformations over the decades but probably the lesser known part of the 125th Street icon's history is that of burlesque shows. This ticket from 1917 shows a season pass for two on Harlem's commercial corridor with details written in pencil. Another point to note is that Harlem's major demographic shift did not start to happen so the theater was most likely segregated like many establishments in the city of that era. Burlesque has actually had a hip comeback in the past decade with a younger generation and is now seen as a form of performance art downtown but we do not see it making a return to 125th Street anytime soon.
Archival photo courtesy the Museum of the City of New York
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