City within a City
— Greater U Street Heritage Trail —
Louis Armstrong and Sarah Vaughn were two of the nationally famous entertainers who played in the brick building on this corner, once home to the popular Club Bali, also called the New Bali. In the memory of one former customer, it was a magic place, its rear garden lit with strings of lights in the summertime.
Club Bali was one of many nightclubs that made the U street area a mecca for music lovers from the jazz era of the 1920s to Motown sound of the 1960s. The magic often continued late into the night, as name entertainers, winding down after formal engagements, played to intimate gatherings int the wee hours of the morning in the many tucked-away, after-hours clubs located throughout the neighborhood.
Fourteenth Street was a place shared, uneasily, by Black and White Washingtonians in segregated Washington. Black and White people owned, managed, and patronized stores on this important commercial corridor, which, both connected and divided the mostly Black community on the east from the mostly white community on the west. While the White-owned People's Drug Store at the corner of 14th and U refused to serve African Americans at the counter, most of the predominantly Black clubs such as the Bali welcomed Whites, making the nightclub scene in Washington one of the city's few integrated social scenes.
Today both 14th Street and U Street are once again becoming venues for the arts and nightlife, as theaters, restaurants, and clubs begin to reuse this neighborhood's historic buildings. Buildings that were once car showrooms, such as the one once occupied by the Bali, are proving to be well suited to the needs of Washington's innovative and thriving small theaters.
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Illustration Captions]
Upper right:
Announcement of The Louis Armstrong Sextet's appearance at the New Bali Restaurant, 1901 14th St. (Henry P. Whitehead Collection)
And photo of Louis Armstrong at the Bali with Jack Teagarden and Earl "Fatha" Hines on piano. (Photo by Tom Lodge. The Historical Society of Washington, DC)
Center right:
Announcement of Ella Fitzgerald performing at the New Bali and ad for the Casbah Supper Club at 1211 U St. (Henry P. Whitehead Collection)
Lower right:
Ads for the Club Madre at 2204 14th St. and the New Bali Restaurant featuring Lester Young (Henry P. Whitehead Collection)
Lower left:
Sarah Vaughn at the Club Bali in 1947. (Photo by Tom Lodge. The Historical Society of Washington, DC)
Lower middle:
Ad for the "Harlem Tropicana" show starring Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five at the Club Bali (Henry P. Whitehead Collection)
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Caption for Photo on Reverse:]
Louis Armstrong plays the Club Bali with (left to right) Barney Bigard, Jack Teagarden, and Earl"Fatha" Hines. (Photo by Tom Lodge. The Historical Society of Washington, D.C.)
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