Smalls' Paradise began as a speakeasy and went on to become one of the most prestigious African-American owned Harlem nightclubs. The
popular club was known as much for its jazz performers as its rollerskating waiters, who could dance the Charleston while balancing trays.
Smalls' drew a mixed race clientele, and was frequented by such luminaries as scholar Alain Locke and poet Countee Cullen.
Nestled between the Lafayette Theatre and the popular nightclub Connie's Inn, a tall chestnut tree was rumored to bring good luck to all who
touched it. During the Harlem Renaissance, aspiring performers such as Ethel Waters, Fletcher Henderson, and Eubie Blake were rumored to have
visited the Tree of Hope. When the tree was cut down in 1934 during the expansion of 7th Avenue, it was cut into logs and sold as souvenirs.
One section was salvaged and found a home at the Apollo Theater, where today's amateur performers continue to rub the trunk in the tradition
of their predecessors.
The Renaissance Casino and Ballroom
Built in 1924, the Renaissance Casino and Ballroom was one of the only upscale reception halls in New York available for events sponsored by African Americans. It earned the distinction of hosting the first awards ceremony for The Crisis (a publication edited by W. E. B. Du Bois). The Renaissance Casino and Ballroom entertained patrons with such varied diversions as cabaret acts, concerts, and gambling. On the second story, couples danced the Lindy Hop, Black Bottom, and Charleston to the sounds of Chick Webb's and Fletcher Henderson's orchestras. The dance floor doubled as home court for a basketball team named the Harlem Renaissance. Dubbed the "Harlem Rens," it was the first all-black basketball team to win a World Championship. The extent to which the Renaissance Casino and Ballroom was woven into the fabric of Harlem nightlife is evidenced by its appearance in literature of the day, such as "College Formal: Renaissance Casino," a poem by Langston Hughes.
The End of an Era
Many factors contributed to the end of the Harlem Renaissance era in the mid-1930s. The Great Depression of the 1930s increased the economic
pressure on all sectors of life. Organizations such as the NAACP and Urban League, which had actively promoted the Renaissance in the 1920s,
shifted their interests to economic and social issues in the 1930s. Many influential black writers and literary promoters, including Langston
Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, Charles S. Johnson, and Du Bois, left New York City in the early 1930s. In spite of these problems the
Renaissance did not disappear overnight. Almost one-third of the books published during the Renaissance appeared after 1929.
A riot in Harlem in 1935, set off in part by the growing economic hardship of the Depression, coupled with mounting tension between the black community
and the white shop owners in Harlem who profited from that community, shattered the notion of Harlem as the "Mecca" of the New Negro.
The Harlem Renaissance seemed to have ended when most of those associated with it left Harlem or stopped writing, while new young artists who
appeared in the 1930s and 1940s never associated with the movement. Although the Harlem Renaissance period seemed to emerge as quickly as faded,
it left a significant mark on the world. America's literary, musical, art, and political history has been shaped by the Harlem Renaissance era.
The current accomplishments of literary, musical, artistic, and political African American figures and scholars of today, are a direct result of
the contributions that were made by African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance. Let us salute their courage and drive and thank them for their
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