U St. NW aka the Black Broadway

Washington DC’s northwest U Street corridor proudly dubbed, “Black Broadway,” served as the entertainment district for the African American community from the early 1900’s to the 1960’s. Also known as the Shaw neighborhood, a burgeoning middle-class African American community, comprised of Black-owned businesses and cultural hot spots. It was the place to be and bear witness to an astonishing array of talent ranging from vaudeville acts, traveling shows, musicals, comedy, and of course, Jazz music! Black Broadway’s reputation exceeded the city limits and drew audiences and performers from all parts of America…and sometimes the world.

Jazz and Washington, DC are synonymous with one single iconic figure; perhaps the greatest composer/arranger of the 20th century... Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington.

Ellington penned his first composition, “Soda Fountain/Poodle Dog Rag” as an homage to U Street’s Poodle Dog Café, once located at 7th & Florida Avenue. Shortly thereafter, Ellington performed one of his first gigs as a bandleader with “Duke’s Serenaders“ in a dance hall at the True Reformers Hall, an architectural and entrepreneurial icon of Washington’s Black community, located at 12th & U Street. After several changes in ownership, it is now a National Historic Landmark and has been listed on the DC Inventory of Historic Sites.
Almost two decades before New York’s Apollo Theater, the Howard Theater opened its doors in 1910 to serve up some of the finest entertainment in the nation. After twenty years, the Howard Theater closed its doors during the depression, only to re-open in 1931 with Ellington’s Orchestra at the helm to celebrate its revival. This was one of few de-segregated theaters in the city, where all races gathered to see Jazz legends such as native Washingtonian Pearl Bailey, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine, Cab Calloway, Sarah Vaughan and Lionel Hampton. As a matter of fact, just about every major Black entertainer performed at the Howard Theater at some point in his or her career and many were regularly billed, sometimes performing several sets in one day. The community where the Howard resides was also called “Little Harlem,” where a number of clubs (7th& T Lounge, Cecilia’s, Abarts, Odessa Madres) thrived until the riot-torn 60’s. To date, the theater remains closed, with hopes for the future, edged on the present U Street corridors’ economic and cultural revitalization.

In 1922, the Lincoln Theater, a first run vaudeville and movie house, and the Lincoln Colonnade (dancehall), managed by African Americans, opened its doors as an integral part of DC’s “Black Broadway” movement. The Lincoln Colonnade hosted many of the great big bands for proms and social gatherings of the time. The Lincoln Theater was one of three movie houses in the Shaw neighborhood, which also included the Booker “T” and the Republic theaters. In the early 90's, the Lincoln Theater was declared an historic landmark, underwent a major restoration, and reopened in 1994. The Lincoln has since hosted numerous performers, including Cassandra Wilson, Quincy Jones, DC’s own Godfather of Go-Go, Chuck Brown, and Wynton Marsalis.

The Crystal Caverns aka the "Caverns" or the "Cave", located on 11th & U Streets, was the venue where many performers such as Ellington, Fitzgerald and Armstrong came to unwind after performances at the Howard. Resurrected and renovated in 1999 as the Bohemian Caverns, the club has been paid homage in recordings by Ramsey Lewis and Les McCann and in performances by Eric Dolphy, Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderly and John Coltrane. Today, it continues to host some of the world’s greatest practitioners of Jazz, as well as the resurgence of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s inspired spoken word artists.

Other jazz venues included the Whitelaw Hotel, The Jungle Inn, The Casbah, Club Begasi and The Republic Gardens, which was a brick row house converted into a restaurant/summer garden, where Ellington was a regular and Pearl Bailey was rumored to have received her name there.

Today’s U Street corridor is undergoing a steady revitalization, which includes the renovation and restoration of many of DC’s Jazz shrines and cultural landmarks. The birth and resurrection of several clubs, restaurants and businesses, now appeal to a diverse range of consumers, audiences and cultures.

New and resurrected Jazz clubs and sites that feature jazz stretch from U Street’s main arteries and 14th Street, and include HR57, Twins Lounge, Bohemian Caverns, the Lincoln Theater, Republic Gardens, Metro Café, and the Black Cat.

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items are from between 02 Sep 2004 & 10 Jul 2009.