Seventh and T seventh and t streets nw
back in the day, Seventh and T was the place to go for a good time. Once the Howard Theatre opened in 1910, restaurants, nightclubs, and businesses followed. As Marita Golden wrote in Long Distance Life , “Seventh Street, dressed in neon, scented with the hungry perfume of passion, hummed and whistled and scatted its way into the night.” Seventh Street inspired. DC native Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington based his first composition, “Soda Fountain Rag,” on the nearby Poodle Dog Café, where he worked after school as a soda jerk around 1915. In the 1960s under-aged fan and neighbor Reggie Kelley “delighted in hanging outside the doors” of Mike’s New Breed at 1912 Seventh Street “listening to the house bands.” In 1938, at 1836 Seventh, Max Silverman started what became the Waxie Maxie’s chain of 28 record stores. Fans of Sarah Vaughan, Buddy Rich, and rising local black artists flocked to Silverman’s jam sessions and to live radio broadcasts held in the storefront’s window, the “goldfish bowl.” The teen- aged Ahmet Ertegun, son of Turkey’s ambassador to Washington, was a frequent customer. Inspired by the R&B of Seventh and T, Ertegun founded Atlantic Records in 1947, eventually recording DC’s Clovers, as well as Ray Charles, the Rolling Stones, and many others. The Southern Aid Society Building and Dunbar movie house opened on this corner in 1921. African American architect Isaiah T. Hatton designed the building, and Lewis Giles, Sr., just starting a long career as a Washington architect, was chief draftsman.
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting