In Jimmy Heath’s autobiography “I Walked with Giants,” drummer Roy Haynes recounted:
I met Jimmy around 1946 when I was with Luis Russell and we played the Earle Theater in Philadelphia. A lot of the big bands would come through the Earle. We stayed at the Douglas Hotel, which was in South Philly. That was the hotel where a lot of the big black bands stayed.
The building is still there. The historical marker out front notes that Billie Holiday “often lived here” when she was in town.
The safe space was not just a place to lay one’s head. The legendary Showboat was located in the basement. John Coltrane recorded a live album here in 1963.
After the Showboat, the space became the Bijou Café. Grover Washington Jr. recorded “Live at the Bijou” in 1977.
West Philly’s Main Street, 52nd Street, is a historic cultural and commercial corridor that stretches from Arch Street to the north and Baltimore Avenue to the south.
In a 2012 interview with Hidden City Philadelphia, Shirley Randleman, then-president of the 52nd Street Business Association, recounted:
Oh, it was wonderful. It was a thriving commercial corridor surrounded by a neighborhood that was financially stable. The 52nd Street corridor had five movie theaters, many high-end clothing stores, and eateries like Horn & Hardart, with the nickel automats. There were bakeries, doctor’s offices, and independent stores, like Buster Brown shoes. 52nd Street was the entertainment capital of West Philadelphia, AKA “the Strip,” and every top notch entertainer found his way there. It was more than just shops; it was the community meeting place. People were engaged in conversations in every shop and on the streets. We lived together.
In the 1960s and ‘70s, 52nd Street, aka “the Strip,” was the place to see and be seen. Celebrities including Muhammad Ali, Cab Calloway, Billy Eckstine, Joe Frazier, Teddy Pendergrass, Stevie Wonder, and members of the Philadelphia Eagles and Phillies hung out at Mr. Silk’s 3rd Base.
Everyone ordered mammer jammer sandwiches at Foo Foo’s Steak House. Top jazz musicians performed at the Aqua Lounge. Etta James and Jackie “Moms” Mabley graced the stage of the State Theatre in April 1963.
For more risqué entertainment, one could go to the Pony Tail and watch go-go girls bend over and “shake a tail feather.”
Lee Morgan’s historical marker was installed at 52nd and Chancellor streets in front of the former location of the Aqua Lounge (now African Cultural Art Forum) on International Jazz Day 2024.
Join All That Philly Jazz Director Faye Anderson for a stroll along 52nd Street. The walk and talk will start at Malcolm X Memorial Park and end at the Red Rooster.
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