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4. Description of the Resource

i. The Palm Tavern is a one-part commercial block, storefront tavern and cafe building unit. It is one section of a brick building with tour storefronts that most likely dates to 1933, possibly earlier. Its architect has yet to be determined. The interior features a bar running the length of the west wall, a small stage on the north wall, and table and booth seating in the eastern half vintage intact features include the mahogany art-deco bar, leather booths, canvas murals of exotic scenes, wall stenciling and pressed tin ceiling.

ii. The Palm Tavern is set in a Chicago commercial block of 47th Street between Cottage Grove and King Drive, and is surrounded by other small, privately owned businesses. This section of 47th street is in the Chicago neighborhood known as Bronzeville, historically the center of Chicago's Black community and culture. The immediate area includes a range of residential properties, including two CHA developments and a number of renovated graystone residences on King Drive and in the neighborhood to the east.

iii. The Palm Tavern building is very much in harmony with area storefronts, hotels and vintage homes. The only stark contrast in the area is the many empty lots resulting from Urban Renewal and more recent failed redevelopment attempts and stalled initiatives. The Palm Tavern and its two operators have served the 47th Street community continuously since 1933. Seventy years ago, the Palm Tavern sat in the heart of Bronzeville's most important business and entertainment district. It was less than a block away from historic venues such as the Regal Theater, the Savoy Ballroom, and the Metropolitan Theater. With 67 years of continuous operation, thc Palm Tavern functions as a base for neighborhood communications, city social and political gatherings, and as an internationally recognized showplace for jazz and blues musicians and poets. From an economic standpoint, its long tenure in the same location provides consistency and stability to neighborhood residents and the business community. A notable and irreplaceable aspect of this resource is the Palm Tavern collection of historic photographs, showbills, and posters. These items were collected here and document the history of life and entertainment in Bronzeville.

5. Historical significance of the Palm Tavern

During the Great Migration of the 1930s and 40s, Chicago was the number one destination of Blacks emigrating from the South. New arrivals settled in the segregated Bronzeville neighborhood, known as "the Black Metropolis," and created a commercial and artistic community that rivaled downtown and Northside Chicago. The center of Bronzeville was the section of 47th Street that lies in the area surrounding what is today Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive (or King Dr.). This district was anchored by the legendary Regal Theatre and Savoy Ballroom, both now demolished, which were the major African-American entertainment venues in Chicago. Both showcased Black talent, including entertainers on the much documented "Chitlin Circuit." The vintage interior and collection of the Palm Tavern, which sits in the heart of this 47th Street district, provides an authoritative view of Bronzeville at its height and makes it one of the best remaining links to Black Chicago of the earlier 20th Century. A resource of this quality and completeness is not likely to be found anywhere else.

The story of the Palm Tavern begins on May 6, 1933, when James E. Knight opened the doors and launched a great chapter of Black Chicago's history in the Bronzeville Era. In the 30s and 40s, 47th Street was alive with well-dressed men and women who came to enjoy the shopping district and the entertainment at the legendary Regal Theater and Savoy Ballroom. Bronzeville elite filled the white-clothed tables at the Palm Tavern and enjoyed some of the best food in town.

As the recipient of one of the first liquor licenses in the city after the repeal of Prohibition, and as one of the first clubs in the country to install "talkies," or mini booth-side juke boxes, the Palm Tavern was assured a place at the top of Bronzev1l1e's nightlife and its complex social order.

Fame came early to the club when, in 1934, Jim Knight was elected the first Mayor of Bronzeville, an honorary title that became a neighborhood institution over the next three decades. Already one of the best night spots in town, Knight took the Palm Tavern's reputation to a new level by hiring Joe Louis's personal cook to oversee the culinary side of the club. Undefeated heavyweight champion Joe Louis, one of the most revered African-Americans in the country, was himself a regular at the Palm Tavern. Still intact is the circular leather booth where, legend has it, the Brown Bomber proposed to his wife.

One of the only significant changes that the Palm Tavern has undergone since 1933 was a change in management when, in 1956, Jim Knight handed the club over to Mississippi-native Geraldine Oliver. According to Gerri, she accepted the post on a dare when one of the club's patrons bet her that she "wouldn't last a week." This year, 2000, marks her 44th year as proprietor of the Palm Tavern.

One of Gerri Oliver's greatest legacies to the Palm Tavern was the addition of live musical entertainment. Even before her arrival, the Palm Tavern was a home away from home for local and visiting musicians. In the heyday of the Bronzeville Era, the Palm Tavern sat directly between the Regal Theater and the Sutherland Hotel (at Drexel Boulevard), where most of the Regal's performers would stay while in Chicago. Its prime location made the Palm Tavern a natural after hours spot for some of the greatest musicians of the era. Another draw was the huge platters of red beans and rice that Gerri would serve once a week, earning her the famous nickname of "Miss Red Beans and Rice." Often, touring musicians like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Cab Calloway would call ahead to the Palm Tavern to request a serving of beans and rice; a few hours later, their tour busses would pull up on 47th Street. In an era of segregation, the Palm Tavern was one of the few places where a world-famous Black musician could enter through the front door ofa club and sit down to a hot, home-cooked meal. The Palm Tavern also sheltered traveling musicians in need of a place to spend the night.

The guest list of local talent, internationally known entertainers, customers and friends of the Palm Tavern includes such notables as Bojangles, Ethyl Waters, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Count Basie and his orchestra, Dinah Washington and The DelIs, the Coasters, Dakota Staton, Dizzie Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Billy Branch, The Drifters, Billy Holiday, the Temptations, the Jackson family, James Brown, Koko Taylor, and Josephine Baker. On the literary front, author Richard Wright, poet Langston Hughes, and Ebony publisher John Johnson frequented the Palm Tavern over the years. A "Wall of Fame" on the north wall of the club features name placards of these and many more accomplished visitors, patrons and friends. The Palm Tavern collection includes hundreds of photographs documenting both the famous and workaday patrons as well as the important events inside the club and on 47th Street (see attached photographs of Wall of Fame and photo album).

As the political climate of Black America changed in the 1960s, the Palm Tavern also took on the role of a forum for political discussion and organization. Black leaders who recognized and took advantage of the Palm Tavern's position in society included civil rights leaders Al Raby, Jesse Jackson and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A devastating paradox that the Palm Tavern survived is that the desegregation these men helped win became a prime factor in the decline of Bronzeville society. As opportunities to live and work elsewhere in the city became available to the Black population of Bronzeville, many of those who were able began to leave the neighborhood. The middle-class patronage of the 47th Street district disappeared over the years, and eventually such anchors as the Regal Theater, the Savoy Ballroom and the Metropolitan Theater fell into disuse and disrepair. Today those landmarks and the way of life that supported them are gone.

The Palm Tavern stands as 47th Street's only representative of the glory days of the Bronzeville Era. While keeping its history intact, it has evolved to serve Chicago's present day political and artistic community. In 1983, the Palm Tavern hosted a reception celebrating Congressional Representative Harold Washington's victory in the Chicago mayoral primary.

Washington went on to become Chicago's first and only Black mayor. Many feature and documentary films have used the Palm Tavern interior in their scenes, most recently the crew of the Bruce Willis film Mercury Rising, who left behind a new stage and interior neon decorative signage. The Palm Tavern continues to provide a venue for live blues and jazz music, including a critically acclaimed play about a neighborhood blues joint and weekly performances by new and established talent.