Douglas Theatre
652 Lenox Avenue,
New York,
NY
10037
652 Lenox Avenue,
New York,
NY
10037
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A “whites only” theatre in Harlem which operated from 1919 until at least 1922. Upstairs from this theatre, which was a neighbor to the legendary Cotton Club, was a restaurant/dance hall known as the Lenox Club (aka the Breakfast Club) which featured performances by, among others, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.
The building was demolished for housing in 1958.
Contributed by
Damien Farley
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
Could there have been another Harlem theatre called the New Douglas, situated at 640 Lenox Avenue? I found it listed in the 1935 edition of the Directory of Motion Pictures, Metropolitan Territory (published by the New York Film Board of Trade), with a reported seating capacity of 2,200 and Leo Brecher as owner. The New Douglas is also listed in the 1935 Film Daily Year Book with the same address but an even larger seating capacity of 2,300.
Here’s a rare view of the exterior, taken in either late 1927 or early 1928, when the Douglas Theatre was part of the M&S Circuit. Note the sign on the corner of 142nd Street for the Cotton Club, which also had its entrance on Lenox Avenue:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/douglas01.jpg
Here’s a new link to the image described above on 3/19/07:
View link
A November 1929 NYT article also mentions the New Douglas on 640 Lenox. The manager was robbed at gunpoint and $2200 in receipts was taken.
This isn’t the New Douglas.
This webpage includes what is probably the photo previously posted by Warren G. Harris (those links are dead).