26/10/2026
✨ On this day in 1925 ✨
On 26 October 1925, Smalls Paradise - a legendary, African-American owned jazz nightclub and cultural hub in Harlem, New York City - opened its doors for business.
Originally owned and operated by entrepreneur Ed Smalls, and situated underneath the sidewalk in a Basement near 135th Street and Seventh Avenue, Smalls Paradise was racially integrated from its inception and one of the only black owned nightclubs welcoming such a diverse clientele at the time.
Famous for staying open so late that breakfast included a full floor show, Smalls offered a unique atmosphere where the entertainment was strictly not limited to the stage and included waiters dancing the Charleston, while others sang or served tables on roller skates.
Well known musicians, including jazz greats like Fats Waller, appeared at the club and many more chose Smalls as their hangout, often informally jammin’ with the venue’s house band (which from 1925 -1935 was Charlie Johnson and His Paradise Ten).
At a time of systemic racism, economic inequality and enforced segregation, Smalls Paradise was an entertainment hot spot like no other. Breaking racial barriers and helping to shape musical history, it went on to become the longest operating club in Harlem before closing its doors in 1986.
Fun Fact: Smalls Paradise hosted Billie Holiday’s first audition as a professional singer In the early 1930’s, and a young Malcolm X worked there as a waiter there between 1942 and 1943!
Image 1: Smalls Paradise, Harlem, New York 1930, photographer unknown
Image 2: Charlie Parker with Joe Newman, and Lou Donaldson at Smalls Paradise in Harlem, New York City, 1953 or 1954, photographer unknown
