As I hinted last month, there is a cadenza to my time at the Bix Beiderbecke festival. On my way to Rhinelander, WI, where I spent the rest of August—anything to escape Lancaster’s summer heat and humidity—I went via Chicago to catch the Cellar Boys at the second of their regular weekly gigs, the Honky Tonk Barbecue at 18th and Racine in the Pilsen neighborhood. You may recall that last year I wrote about my first visit to their Tuesday spot at the Green Mill on the North Side. On this trip I planned to arrive early enough to snag a parking space, and in so doing had time to do something I always enjoy when I have the opportunity: exploring the city—any city, actually, whether I’ve been there before or not—on my bicycle.
My reading this summer was Ricky Riccardi’s third and final installment of his Louis Armstrong biography, which I’ve just finished. Titled Stomp Off, Let’s Go, it covers Armstrong’s earliest years, and was released a few months ago. I highly recommend it. It is very well written and documented, with 70 of its 466 pages devoted to footnotes.
Not long before going to the Bix, I had reached the year 1922 in the book, when Louis left New Orleans to join King Oliver’s band, which was then playing at Lincoln Gardens on Chicago’s South Side. A number of venues were mentioned, starting in chapter 18. I decided to see how many, if any, still stood after 100 years. I could’ve used Google Earth’s Street View feature, which I often do for a variety of purposes. But Street View is not always current and is never as good as your own eyes. So here’s the list, in the order the sites appear in the book. Most are closely grouped in two neighborhoods about a mile and a half apart. The only one that is not is downtown. I went to each one and herewith report what is there now.
*459 E. 31 St. (SW corner of Rhodes): Then: Lincoln Gardens, where Oliver and many other black bands performed. Heavily damaged by fire Christmas Eve, 1924, later reopened as the New Charleston Cafe. Now: the Lake Meadows Apartments, and the Cook County Bronzeville Health Center.
*3409-1/2 S. State: Then: the Jones Music Store where Louis’s soon-to-be second wife Lillian Hardin worked as a song demonstrator. Now: a parking lot under the Green line El just north of the 35th St./Bronzeville station.
*3412 S. Wabash: Then: Louis’s first apartment, obtained for him by Oliver. Now: this entire block is gone; the land is now part of DeLaSalle Institute, a Catholic high school.
*32nd & Vernon: Then: apartment of King Oliver and his wife Stella. Now: a more modern large apartment building. This intersection now forms an “L” and the current building is on what would have been the SW corner.
*31st & South Park Way (now called Martin Luther King Dr.): Then: Olivet Baptist Church, mentioned in Louis’ description of the walk he took in the neighborhood immediately after first arriving in Chicago. Now: same. The church was built in 1875 as the First Baptist Church, the oldest black Baptist church in the city, still in use.
*43rd & St. Lawrence: Then: the apartment Louis rented for his mother when she came to visit him and wound up staying a few months. The book does not specify which corner. Now: NW and SW corners are vacant. The NE and SE corners have apartment buildings of newer vintage.
*3218 S. Michigan: Then: the Ideal Tea Room, where Louis and Lil’s wedding reception took place on Feb. 7, 1924, two days after the ceremony. Now: part of Illinois Institute of Technology, possibly student residences.
*3320 S. Giles: Then: Lil’s home, with her mother and step-father, at the time of her marriage to Louis. Now: vacant lot.
*421 E. 44th: Then: house Lil bought for her, Louis, her mother and Louis’s nephew Clarence, whom he adopted. Now: same. A picture of Lil standing in front of the house is on page 357.
*3520 S. State: Then: Dreamland dance hall. Now: apartment building.
*3100-block S. State: Then: Vendome Theater, where the Hot Five opened upon Louis’ return from NYC in 1925. Now: entire block, both sides, are owned by IIT, but the theater is gone.
*227-29 W. Washington, downtown: Then: studios of Elmer Fearn, where Okeh’s black artists in Chicago recorded. Now: a modern office building numbered 225 W. Washington, on the SE corner of Franklin.
*35th & Calumet: Then: sites of the Plantation and Sunset Cafes. Although the book does not say which corner each occupied, a little research showed the Sunset was on the SW corner. Based on an old photo I found online, the Plantation might have been on the NE corner. Now: NE corner: gas station; NW corner: Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen; SE corner: Dock’s fish restaurant, a local four-store chain; SW corner: Urban Beautique, a beauty supplies store.
*4733 South Park: Then: Savoy Ballroom, which opened Nov. 23, 1927. Now: a 2-level parking structure, perhaps belonging to the Luther Terrace Apartments on the NE corner of 48th.
*543 E. 47th: Then: Warwick Hall, renamed Usonia Dancing School. Armstrong played there after the Sunset closed. Now: vacant lot.
*4838 S. Calumet: Then: apartment owned by Ida Searcy, mentioned verbally by Louis on “A Monday Date” recorded by the Hot Five. He and colleagues used to go there after Savoy gigs to drink her bathtub gin. Louis said that after the record was released Miss Searcy wouldn’t allow them to come any more, fearing she’d be raided by the vice squad. Now: vacant lot.
*3525 South Park: Then: apartment where Louis’s nephew Clarence went to live in 1931 with his third wife Alpha Smith’s parents. Now: a handsome 3-story building, could be 100+ years old.
One place not mentioned in the book, perhaps because it didn’t exist at the time, is Lillian Hardin Armstrong Park, bordered by 44th, St. Lawrence, 45th and Evans Sts.
Now, the main reason for my detour to Chicago. The Cellar Boys’ regular Sunday evening gig at the Honky Tonk even predates the band; their predecessor the Fat Babies started playing there, but I’m not certain of the exact date. Like their other regular spot, the Green Mill, this place has a unique character. It’s nothing fancy, just a typical neighborhood watering hole. But unlike the Green Mill, it serves food, primarily barbecue-related. I arrived 45 minutes before the 7 pm downbeat as is my wont so I could enjoy the music without interruptions from the servers. The service was amazingly fast, but that might depend on what you order. I also wanted to nab a good seat, which I did.
As it turned out, the crowd was rather sparse during the first set but then the house filled up and remained so almost until the end at 10 PM. Naturally, the band has its followers who show up almost every week. I recognized a few who had been to the Bix festival that weekend. Several Bix musicians also came in, and two of them—David Boeddinghaus and Sam Chess—sat in during the last set. Two others—Dave Bock and Richard Edsall—were there but did not play (Dave is a former band member). What surprised me about the evening was that no Walter Donaldson tunes were played. He is Andy Schumm’s favorite composer, and mine as well. I asked Andy about a particular Donaldson tune, which it turns out is in their book, but Andy hadn’t brought it with the night’s charts.
There was a sub on banjo, Jon Donatowicz, who had been in the band in the past. Otherwise, all the regulars were there. The regular string player, Jimmy Barrett, is recovering from surgery and won’t be back for a while. At the Bix festival, Gavin Rice took his place.
If you go to the Tonk, it might be easiest to use public transportation. There is free street parking on Sundays, but most of the side streets close to the venue require a resident permit. On this day there was also a nearby street festival which shut down several blocks and put an additional strain on parking. I found spaces without much searching five blocks away on W. 16th. I did not feel uneasy walking back to the car at 10:30 pm, and the car was not bothered. Parked cars far newer and more valuable than mine were also untouched. The Pink line of the El stops at 18th and Paulina, which is 5/8 of a mile west of Racine, and the trains run quite late in the evening. Buses also run on 18th, but I did not investigate them. If you like the Cellar Boys (and who doesn’t?), it’s worth any travel hassles to get to the Honky Tonk.
Bill Hoffman is a travel writer, an avid jazz fan and a supporter of musicians keeping traditional jazz alive in performance. He is the concert booker for the Tri-State Jazz Society in greater Philadelphia. Bill lives in Lancaster, PA. He is the author of Going Dutch: A Visitors Guide to the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Unique and Unusual Places in the Mid-Atlantic Region, and The New York Bicycle Touring Guide. Bill lives in Lancaster, PA.
