One More Thing...
A brief mention before I wrap up—This week I caught a mention in Preston Lauterbach’s Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock and Roll of “the stroll,” described as the “main thoroughfare of the black part of town.” Just as Circuit performers required lodging options open to and accommodating of their patronage, Black businesses— “dentists, barbers, pharmacies, cafes, cab companies, and lodgings, always stressing the up-to-date”—provided their services to performers while also functioning as a network of promotion for upcoming acts. Ennis Davis’ article on six Chitlin’ Circuit still extant in Jacksonville features a quote containing reference to “the stroll” and a testament to its vibrancy.
It also contains another connection to research I have presented previously in Week 12. When searching for the location of the Hotel Charlie Edd, I used Google Street View to know whether or not the structure was extant. When inputting the 635 West Ashley Street address, there is a unique structure visible on the left—memorable in its distinctiveness, and the reason why I recognized it from a picture in Davis’ article. The proximity of these sites to one another, in conjunction with the mention of Ashley Street in the Barnes quote, make them part of Jacksonville’s stroll.
According to Davis, it was the site of the Lenape Bar: a jazz venue on the first floor, and the Wynn Hotel on the second floor. Davis also mentions the site as a favorite of Louis Armstrong and a frequent haunt of Ray Charles at the beginning of his career. Looking at the address provided by Davis reveals an even closer connection. Not only were the two linked by their presence on the stroll, but they were neighbors as well! A bit further down, Street View also reveals another site from Davis’ selection—the Clara White Mission on 615 West Ashley Street.
The importance of the stroll to accessing Circuit performances is evident throughout many of the articles I highlighted last week. Mentioned throughout are businesses where tickets are available for sale. Looking at this aspect of the Circuit ecosystem can reveal other aspects of Black lives in the South, such as what businesses were available, the time of their operation, and who owned them. In one example of many, advertisements like this one for a performance by Louis Armstrong at the South Street Casino told interested attendees where to purchase their tickets for the event. It also tells historians more about a community’s economic and social histories.
Wrapping Up
Hard to believe this is my last post for the semester! I have been collecting research threads that never made it into my other posts, as well as additional information not related to anything mentioned in my posts but with a place and significance in local history. It seems every week I encountered and connected information—so much so that I often struggled to determine where to focus my attentions. There is much left to explore and uncover, namely concerning Club Eaton’s later iterations as Club Heroes and Club KOHA (Keep Our History Alive).
There is also the site across the street from Club Eaton—most recently, Smith’s Eatonville Hotel. According to the oral recollection of Mr. John Beacham, it offered dining and sleeping accommodations to Circuit performers. In 1992, it was the site of a major drug bust with an Orlando Sentinel article mentioning its uncertain future at the mercy of probate court. While there were cars in the lot when I last visited, it is not clear if the hotel is in operation or if only the parking lot remains in use. Based on what I found for other sites, there is a potential to discover new narratives which better reflect Eatonville’s storied history.
For next project steps, the data generated should be utilized and expanded for other research projects. Connecting to other datasets and projects can eventually yield more comprehensive and expansive digital public history projects, such as visualizing Circuit routes of performers across different states. As more grant opportunities and project funding becomes available for preserving sites and stories of African American history and heritage, expanded site narratives can aid interpretation to communicate site significance to the public. Not only does this present knowledge of a site’s history, but it contributes to community context while communicating its identity as well. As site narratives are built out, public historians can implement them to better connect communities to their built environments and fabrics. Additionally, they can contribute to and support revitalization efforts. As such, the most important next step is to focus attentions on listening to communities such as Eatonville to best understand how to aid and contribute to further history and heritage preservation efforts.
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